


Ascendant

by DragonTamerOne



Series: Blue's Halo Character Insert [1]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Deviates From Canon, Gen, I don't know if it's actually graphic I'm just being careful, Mild Language, Moral Dilemmas, Original Character(s), Overthrowing the government, Sarcastic Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 91,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22102756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonTamerOne/pseuds/DragonTamerOne
Summary: Blue's task was relatively simple. Infiltrate the Covenant empire and tear it apart from the inside. She doesn't work for the humans - she works for the Planetary Alliance, a hidden republic of novel alien species that see the Covenant as the greatest threat to their existence. And Blue isn't a normal person - she was genetically-engineered to have abilities like no other. Her job wouldn't be easy, not in the slightest, but theoretically, it was simple.However, upon meeting the Covenant, she discovers the terrible lie of their religion, and the terrible plans of the High Prophet of Truth. She must decide between her morals - follow her orders and let the Covenant tear itself apart from the inside, or reject what she has been raised to do and protect an enemy from its own certain destruction.
Relationships: John-117 | Master Chief & Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character & Cortana, Original Female Character & The Covenant
Series: Blue's Halo Character Insert [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590928
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Blue's Introduction and Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! This is the first work I'm posting on this site. Please feel free to leave feedback on it. If you have criticisms, try to be constructive. The entire fic is already written, but I'm reworking it before I post it here. I don't have any betas, so I'm my own editor, and sometimes that means I miss things other people wouldn't. As well, if you have advice for how I should tag and format my writing, please let me know!
> 
> If you like my writing style, please go check out my other works! I'm planning on posting more fics in the future.

Well, hello there. It seems that someone found my transcripts.  
These are considered sensitive information, so I have no idea how you got them. Obviously, though, if you went to the effort of finding these, you’re at least half-interested in reading them.  
It would be rude of me not to introduce myself, then, since my backstory has yet to be written properly.  
My name is Blue.  
I am the product of centuries of research, technology, genetic engineering, and one unforeseen and unrepeatable accident.  
My genetic code is, or was, made of DNA from many different sentient species, including those who have a powerful biology property - the ability to manipulate the universe’s many forms of energy at will. It’s not magic - it can be explained with science - but I won’t bore you with those details. We creatures are referred to as energized.  
You may notice that I corrected myself to the past tense in the paragraph prior. I don’t have a genetic code anymore because of the accident I mentioned earlier. Funny story, I burnt up my physical body when I tried to channel the Sun’s energy through myself. I was fighting aliens, as you usually do, when accidentally turning yourself into a pure-energy lifeform. Instead of dying like a normal person, my stubborn soul adhered itself to the combat gear I was wearing (modeled after my high school mascot, the Norton Dragon, because I have no creativity). Turns out, being made of pure energy inside a suit of futuristic space armor is a pretty good deal. Without a physical body, my energetic abilities increased tenfold, and thanks to the miracles of energetic engineering, I retained all my senses and physical presence. And if I needed something else, I could build it into myself.  
I was saving your planet, by the way. I think I forgot to mention that. You’re welcome.  
I can hear some of you in the back with your hands around your mouths yelling “Mary Sueeeeeee”. First of all, 1. No, 2. I worked really hard to get here, and 3. That’s kind of the point. The hypothetical point.  
So, anyways, that’s who I am. Oh, I have to mention that I travel with two companions. One is my starship, Aethon, a fully-sentient AI inhabiting a highly-advanced, FTL-capable, space-and-atmosphere-faring vessel. The other is a potty-mouthed dunderhead that inhabits the body of an oversized, black mechanical tiger. His name is BTS, and no, he doesn’t listen to KPOP, and neither do I. It’s an acronym. It usually doesn’t stand for anything.  
As part of my training, I was put through a lot of hyper-realistic neural simulations that used a massive supercomputer. They’re like the most vivid dream you’ve ever had. These simulations, you don’t know they’re just inside your head when you’re in them. This transcript is from one of those simulations.  
So, as you read my story, I want you to ponder this: just because it’s inside your head, why should that mean it’s not real?

~Prologue~

The hologram flickered to life, showing the diminutive form of Ambassador Wukong, the Gehirnian representative of the Planetary Alliance. He adjusted his round-rimmed glasses on his monkey-like face before speaking.  
“We have the rest of the files ready for your mission,” he spoke crisply, eyes on a datapad he was holding. “We’re having them sent to Aethon now.”  
Blue leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees. “So the scouts confirmed it. Humanity is at war with another galactic empire.”  
“Losing the war, more like it,” Wukong replied. He frowned at his datapad. “Since humanity declined its invitation to join the Planetary Alliance, we have no obligation to assist on their behalf. However, the AP is duty-bound to protect peace and wellbeing in the galaxy, so the other ambassadors have agreed that we, as the intragalactic relations branch of our empire, have an obligation after all.”  
“So we’re going to war against this ‘Covenant’?” the draconic asked. “Why contact me over a private channel, then?”  
“Because we are not,” Wukong corrected her. “The Covenant is a highly-advanced society consisting of multiple client species, numerous habited planets, and an uncountable number of military assets. Outright war with them would be devastating for the AP, whether the numbers predict our win or not.”  
“So you’ve got something special planned for me?” Blue asked, blue eyes narrowing.  
Wukong nodded. “Indeed. You are our most powerful and capable operative. Your starship is the most advanced of our fleet. You are our best suited for this kind of task.”  
“Most powerful,” the draconic snorted dismissively, sitting up. “And yet you still won’t remove my training wheels.” She held up both arms, wrists in line with her head; blue energy flickered to life around her wrists, like cuffs. The flickering bands of energy slowly rotated around her arms until she put them down.  
“We don’t know the limits of your abilities yet,” the ambassador replied. “You must continue to operate with restricted power for your own safety and the safety of others. This is not negotiable.”  
“Yeah, yeah,” Blue muttered, annoyed. She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, what’s the ‘task’?”  
Wukong passed his hand over the screen of his datapad. “We need you to infiltrate the Covenant and break them down from the inside. From the AP’s own experience, we know that sustaining an empire with multiple client species can be difficult. There are bound to be rifts and breaks you can take advantage of to cause disturbances within the structure.”  
“What you’re asking for is incredibly difficult,” Blue reasoned. “I know nothing about these aliens. Nothing about their customs, their ways, their beliefs.”  
“They are highly religious, that much is apparent,” Wukong told her. “Everything we know, as limited as it is, has been forwarded to your ship.” He adjusted his glasses. “Faith is a powerful thing, Blue. And faith can be broken.”  
“Easy to say, near impossible to do,” the draconic deflected. “Tell me there’s a catch, Ambassador. A flaw, a pinhole, somewhere.”  
“The Covenant faith is based on an extinct race called the ‘Forerunners’,” Wukong read off his datapad. “They believe reverently that these people ascended off this mortal plane and became gods. However they did it, the Covenant hopes to do the same.” He lowered his datapad. “We have a contact for you. His name is Sesa ‘Refumee and he leads a band of rebels who have denounced the Covenant religion. He may be able to tell you more.”  
“Will he be friendly?” the draconic asked dubiously.  
“Doubtful,” the ambassador replied. “But you’ll make it work. We’ve forwarded you the coordinates for ‘Refumee’s base. We suggest haste, because the Covenant is looking for him. We also have another contact for you, a crew about the Covenant reconnaissance ship, Fearless Wander.”  
“We’ll head there as soon as we can,” Blue promised.  
“And Blue,” Wukong reminded her, “regular field reports, please.”  
“Yes, Ambassador,” the draconic confirmed, dipping her head.  
Wukong nodded. “Starspeed, operative.” His hologram went dark.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. 1.1: Arrival Over Threshold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Blue's character isn't too confusing. She has an entire original background story I wrote, but it's kinda trash so I need to rewrite it. And honestly, writing her into other universes is a lot of fun.

1.1

Blue opened her eyes to see the white nanocomposite of the roof of Aethon’s cabin above her. She was lying on the floor, alone. Letting her mind slowly wander around the premises, she sensed the awake and prepared consciousness of her ship, and BTS, who was already up and moving around the cargo bay.  
She rolled onto her side and pushed herself to her feet. The faint light of stars was coming through Aethon’s cabin windows.  
“All lies well?” she asked.  
“All systems are online and fully functional,” Aethon replied. “Currently performing surveillance scan.”  
There was a metallic clank, and BTS’s front half appeared through the trapdoor leading out of the cabin. With a scrabbling of claws, the black-colored tiger pushed himself through.  
“I hate long hyperjumps,” he muttered. “Every time I wake up after one, I’m so stiff.”  
“Go check and make sure the fabricators are working,” Blue ordered the tiger. “Aethon, are we alone out here?”  
“Done and done,” BTS replied, and trotted off through an automatic door in the back of the cabin.  
“We’re alone out here,” Aethon confirmed. “Shall I plot a course to Threshold?”  
Blue nodded. “It’s critical we get to ‘Refumee as fast as possible, and establish ourselves as a trusted ally.”  
“Prepare for hyperspace jump,” Aethon said.  
“Jump at will,” Blue replied, sitting down into her pilot’s chair.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Aethon exited hyperspace within view of the gas mine, hanging over the thrall of purplish-orange clouds. He covered himself with his supercloak and vanished from sight.  
“Supercloak is functional,” he told Blue. “Ambassador Wukong was right. This technology is wondrous.”  
“It’ll be useful to keep us from getting blown up, that’s for sure,” Blue agreed. “Covenant ships most likely use a friend-foe-identification system. If they sense us and we don’t have the proper codes, they’ll fire.”  
“I can take a few hits,” Aethon sounded almost haughty. “Anyways, they can’t follow us into hyperspace.”  
“Get me closer to that mine,” Blue ordered. “Scan for a way in.”  
“The complex has many landing platforms,” Aethon informed her. “Shall I pick one to your liking?”  
“See if you can get a heat signal from the people onboard,” Blue replied. “I want to contact them before we land, to establish that we’re friendly.”  
“Consider it done,” the ship told her.  
BTS was working the compact fabricator in the back of the cabin, stacking up small, round devices next to him. Progress went at about one device every five minutes.  
“I want a good handful of those made before I go in,” Blue ordered. “I’m going to give one to ‘Refumee that’ll have a transmitter in it, so he can contact me at will.”  
“Heat signals have located the heretics in the control node of the mine,” Aethon reported. “There’s a landing site outside.”  
“Patch me into the intercom in the control node,” Blue ordered. “I need to talk to these guys.” She cautiously reached her consciousness out to the mine; the first being she encountered was a Sangheili, and she pulled the languages he knew (which was just one) from his mind before quickly retreating.  
“Remember, Ambassador Wukong said these aliens are very proper with their language,” Aethon reiterated. “We have to sound professional when we speak to them.”  
The draconic grimaced. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.”  
Aethon’s radio emitted static, and then cleared. Blue could hear voices coming faintly from the other side. Someone exclaimed, noticing the activation of the intercom.  
“Threshold, my name is Blue,” she said. “I come in peace; I mean no harm. I’m requesting permission to land on the mine and speak with Sesa ‘Refumee. I have vital information regarding Covenant movements. I’m interested in your cause.”  
“Reveal yourself to us, and maybe we’ll have a deal,” was the aggressive response she got. “We don’t see anything out there.”  
Aethon, listening in, dropped his supercloak.  
“I’m uncloaked,” Blue replied. “You won’t recognize this ship. I’m not from the Covenant.”  
That announcement was met by silence on the other end. Likely considering the pros and cons of dealing with an entity unknown.  
“Permission to land?” Blue repeated.  
“Permission granted,” the speaker replied. The group on the other side then broke into a flurry of whispers before the intercom disconnected.  
Aethon disconnected from the intercom. “Step One is a success!”  
“Step Two: Don’t Get Blown Up,” BTS grumbled.  
“You,” Blue pointed to him, “are staying onboard. And working.”  
“Yup, yup,” he muttered. “Your transmitter is almost done fabricating. The rest of these devices are ready.” He held one up with two heavy fingers. “Portable shielding devices make funny peace offerings.”  
“This is energetics technology,” Blue replied. “They’ve never seen anything like this before. If I can’t get them to be friendly, then at least I can get them fascinated.”  
Landing Aethon took up the rest of the five minutes, and BTS handed off the few shielding devices, plus the one with the transmitter, that he’d made. Blue took them and jumped down the ladder, walking through the hallway leading to the cargo bay.  
“Good luck,” Aethon wished her, and opened a hatch to the outside.  
The wind outside was atrocious, and of course there was no oxygen, but Blue had established that she didn’t need oxygen to survive a long time ago. Wherever there was energy or matter, her life sustained.  
The landing pad was cut off from the gas mine by heavy doors; Blue hooked the shielding devices to her belt and approached the door with her hands high in the air.  
_Further scanning indicates there are two sections of this mine that contain unknown specimens of organic nature,_ Aethon communicated to her. _They are currently contained and appear to be in stasis. They are novel to me._  
Blue grimaced. _Great, more unknowns. There was nothing about this in Wukong’s report?_  
_Not a scrap,_ Aethon confirmed.  
She couldn’t see anyone, but she knew they could see her. Snake-glass slid over one of her eyes, lighting up the space beyond the door with the heat signatures of the people inside. It let her see in infrared, rather than in visible light.  
The door opened to the airlock and she stepped inside, still keeping her hands visible. Judging by the outlines of the heat signatures coming from beyond the airlock, the people on the other side had their weapons up.  
The airlock hissed, atmosphere balancing. The door beyond it opened up, revealing a large gang of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy all aiming their weapons at her.  
She watched their eyes shift. Of course they would react like this; she didn’t look like anything they would have seen before. A narrow, draconic face with defined brows, silver, armored plates running from the end of her nose, up her forehead, and down her neck, where they lengthened, becoming like the barding of horse armor. Two short, slightly curved ivory horns, cheeks framed by smaller spiked of the same color. Without the horns, she was 6’4; with, she was 6’7. The aliens could probably see her tail, and maybe even her wings, though they were tucked tight to her back, only poking above her shoulders a little. And her skin, her body, it walked the line between something that seemed natural and something that seemed artificial. It was only suiting; her skin was her armor. Her colors were shades of silver and grey, except for her eyes, which were electric blue.  
“You wanted to see ‘Refumee?” one of the Sangheili, who was probably leading this group, asked. They were a large species, all over seven feet tall, with grey, faintly reptilian skin and gleaming amber eyes.  
Blue nodded. “I have information of great importance to him. I also have supplies aboard my ship I would like to distribute to you, to aid your stay here.”  
“State who you are, first,” the Sangheili ordered.  
“I am Blue of the Farsight Clan,” she told him. “I am of the Lupa, a race yet unknown to your people, and lost to this time.” That was a lie, but the AP needed to remain secret.  
The Sangheili merely grunted in response and motioned for her to follow him. The rest of his crew swarmed along behind her, guns trained on her back. She was clearly unarmed (at least by their standards, but only the dumbest of the dumb would miss the sight of her razor-sharp claws and gleaming teeth).  
They led her deeper into the mine, which was heavily built, designed to withstand the extreme weather that raged around it. Thick doors, heavy frames, and the hiss of pressurized pipes in the walls.  
They stopped at another door, and a vocal exchange occurred with whoever was on the other side. They were admitted shortly.  
The room they entered looked like some sort of hangar, turned to a makeshift meeting area because everyone could fit in the space. It was currently populated by a very aggressive-looking crowd of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy. A conglomerate of robotic crafts hovered above them; Blue recalled their name as ‘Sentinels’.  
‘Refumee and the other commander of the group, Loka ‘Bandolee, were surrounded by a protective wall of their underlings, across the hangar. She was escorted towards them.  
“This is the outsider seeking to speak to me?” “Refumee asked, eyes carefully evaluating her.  
“This is it,” her escort replied. “She is from a species unknown to the Covenant, but claims she has important information on their movements.”  
‘Refumee stared at her intently. “Tell me, what being are you, that you go by the name of ‘Blue’?”  
“I am a being not of your knowledge, as was said,” Blue replied. “My people are lost to this time, and I have been in stasis for very long. I have awoken to this new threat, the Covenant.”  
“So you know, then?” ‘Refumee pushed through the protective line around him. “You know the truth?”  
Blue tilted her head, confused. “The truth?”  
“The Covenant believes that these great structures called the ‘Halos’ were used by the Forerunners to ascend to godhood,” ‘Refumee told her. “That is a lie. The Halos were a weapon against the Flood, to starve it from existence by destroying the food it consumed.” ‘Refumee had come right up to her, forcing her to look up a little in order to meet his eye. His gaze was smoldering. “The Flood, a terrible parasite that infects with spores and fangs, turning all life into organic soup. Consider yourself blessed for not having known them.”  
Blue met his gaze evenly. “So you believe the Covenant will activate these Halos again, and wipe out all life in this galaxy?”  
“I know it,” ‘Refumee replied angrily. “But what use are you to me?” He asked, looking her up and down disdainfully. “They will listen to you no more than they will listen to me.”  
“I agree,” Blue told him. “They will denounce these words as heresy and seek to end our lives in the galaxy. But I believe I have a great service to offer them, one they will not refuse. They will accept me as one of their own, and I will sway them.”  
“You will sway the Prophets?” ‘Refumee scoffeed. “You must be daft.”  
Blue shook her head. “I will sway their people, and with the strength of numbers I will overwhelm them.”  
‘Refumee laughed. “How will you do this, all on your own?”  
“I am not alone,” Blue replied. “My companions travel with me. Their powers are vast, almost to my own abilities.”  
“Companions?” many of the heretics started looking around nervously. “We detected no others.”  
Blue shrugged. “When we don’t want to be seen, we are not. It is that simple.” She lowered her head solemnly. “But I will not hide them from you. They are aboard my ship.”  
‘Refumee nodded thoughtfully and looked back at her. “I see the truth in that; we will not consider this a betrayal. An ally with as ancient power and knowledge as you would be of great assistance to us. But what shall I do with you?”  
“I mean to be picked up by a reconnaissance fleet that is searching for Forerunner artifacts,” Blue told him. “The flagship is the CAR-class frigate Fearless Wander. They will be my path into High Charity.”  
“They will blast you out of the sky upon sight,” ‘Refumee replied with a snort.  
“You didn’t,” Blue said. “And perhaps you could give me some pointers as well?”  
‘Refumee sneered. “You would need an IFF, or a very good story. You presented information for me; what could you possibly do for them?”  
“Nothing of much importance,” Blue said with a shrug. “But I am a powerful being.” She held her hands up, and touched her wrists together. Blue sparks shot around her wrists, and runic, glowing rings appeared. She heard whispering sweep through the crowd around them, including the sound of a few guns coming up.  
“My own people have limited me, but I am still powerful beyond comparison,” she said. “These devices in my wrists will prove my claim, and my skills will prove me worthy. The Covenant will not deny me.”  
‘Refumee nodded thoughtfully. “They will send people after us, sooner or later. What will you do then?”  
“I will return here to evacuate you and your people before the Covenant can get to you,” Blue told him. “They do know that you hide here. I will be able to fit everyone aboard my ship, though it will be a bit of a squeeze.”  
“How can I trust your words on this?” ‘Refumee asked.  
“I have a few tokens of my trust on me,” Blue said, reaching to the shielding devices on her belt. Everyone’s guns went up.  
“Relax,” she said. “These are just shielding devices, one including a transmitter that will allow whoever has it to communicate with me. I would like you to have it, in case something arises.” She unhooked the transmitter from her belt and held it up to ‘Refumee.  
He took the round disc and examined it. “What technology is this?”  
“It’s just a bit of programmed magic,” Blue replied. “It’ll adhere to any metal surface, including armor. Touch the center and it’ll put you in contact with me. Go on, try it.”  
‘Refumee grunted, and then held the transmitter out to the Kig-Yar standing nearest to him. The smaller creature hissed in protest, but ‘Refumee growled him into submission. He nervously touched the transmitter.  
_Hello?_ Blue heard the voice in her head.  
_Hello to you too,_ she replied. The Kig-Yar yelped and jumped away from the transmitter.  
“It spoke,” he hissed. “In my head.”  
Blue held up her hands. “I will admit, I am capable of telepathy. This will let you communicate with me, wordlessly and without failure. The shielding abilities of the device, and the other ones, are basic at this moment, but consider them an offering of my alliance. They are also Lupine technology, which is quite different from your own.”  
‘Refumee nodded, and accepted the rest of the devices. “I am sure they will be fascinating to investigate.”  
“If we’re done here, I should be going,” Blue told him.  
He held up his hand. “Wait. There is someone you must met. Oracle?”  
A roughly cuboidal, floating object jolted up from behind one of the hangar’s parked vehicles. It emitted faint pulses of blue light from its center, made of a grey casing around a blue-glowing lens, spherical like an eye. “Oh, this is our guest?” it’s voice seemed genuinely surprised. “I expected one of the client races, seeing how she speaks the language.” The machine drifted over, moving near-silently through the air. “I am 343 Guilty Spark, newcomer. I am a Monitor, a Forerunner device tasked with the maintenance of important facilities.”  
“This Oracle understands the truth about the Halo rings,” ‘Refumee said. “They are not holy devices, but weapons of mass destruction.”  
“Indeed,” the Monitor agreed. “I was tasked with the protection of Installation 04 up until its unfortunate destruction. The installations were built by the Forerunners as a last stand against the Flood. When activated, they will wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy.”  
“The Covenant want to activate these rings because of their false beliefs,’ ‘Refumee reiterated. “They must be stopped, at all costs, but they are blinded by their faith!” He gestured to Guilty Spark. “This proof may not even be enough to sway some of them.”  
“Then those who cannot be swayed must be stopped,” Blue declared. She narrowed his eyes. “We agree on that much. With that said, will you provide for me a safe way to approach the Fearless Wander, and enter the Covenant proper?”  
‘Refumee grimaced, mandibles spreading a bit. “I doubt your chances of success. But the Covenant is too strong for me to stop alone; I understand that much. If you’re brave or crazy enough to try and take them on, then you have my support.”  
Blue nodded. “Agreed. I am your ally, ‘Refumee. I will prove my trustworthiness, thanks to your help.”  
‘Refumee narrowed his eyes. “If you are as trustworthy as you are capable, then you will bring the reconnaissance fleet here. And you will convince them of the truth. Otherwise, consider this deal off.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. 1.2: Roc 'Ayanamee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there an easier way to format italics into this site? I'm going to get tired of typing HTML all the time.

1.2

Aethon dropped out of hyperspace, fully cloaked, in the wake of the reconnaissance fleet, made up of one frigate and a handful of light and heavy-class corvettes. Currently, the ships were stationary. That was because their Luminaries were freaking out.  
Blue was tossing two, short metal rods around in her hands. They were about an inch and a half long, a half inch wide, and a half inch tall, unmarked. She’d just made them at the fabricator, and was programming them to activate the Luminaries.  
‘Refumee had explained to her how the Luminaries, specialized scanning devices, had worked. They weren’t simple as she thought they would’ve been. The Luminaires didn’t just light up, or spin, or make any sort of noise as a basic detection system; they utilized a complex set of symbols that correlated to whatever they were tracking. She’d been doing nothing but remotely analyzing the internal workings of the Luminaries for the last three days. She’d then correlated her analysis with the knowledge from the people aboard the ship, who knew what the symbols meant. She telepathically delved through their memories of their meanings, and the symbols they’d seen before when tracking other relics. The tricky part was figuring out which function activated which symbol.  
She needed to lead the fleet to her, but not in a way that would end in her simply being blown up.  
“The frigate appears to be turning around,” Aethon said. “I think they have locked onto our location.” Indeed, the leading ship of the rather small fleet was moving.  
“Get us out of detection range, and then uncloak,” Blue ordered. “We’ll let them come to us.” She put her hands behind her back to quell her nervous fidgeting.  
“If we are fired upon, what shall I do?” Aethon asked.  
“Make the jump into hyperspace,” Blue replied. “If they are willing to destroy a vessel holding Forerunner artifacts, I think it means I’ve did something wrong.”  
“Like saying ‘please blow us up, we’re contaminated’ instead of ‘we’re your friends and we have cookies’. We studied those damn symbols for twenty-seven and a half hours,” BTS muttered from where he was laying on the floor. “You better not have done something wrong.”  
“All we can do is hope,” Blue replied. She turned her wrist over, slashed across it with one claw, and pushed one of the metal bars through her skin. It sank beneath the silvery metal, which closed up behind it seamlessly as she healed. She repeated the process for her other wrist.  
“Keep all communications open, in case they contact us,” Blue told Aethon.  
“Already doing that,” Aethon replied. “Be at peace, Blue. We have planned this well.”  
“Have we, though?” BTS muttered.  
“Both of you are to keep your sentience a secret while aboard,” Blue reminded them. “Until we can trust these people, you must remain silent.”  
“We’re being scanned,” Aethon said. “They will detect you as the only lifeform aboard.”  
“Prepare for evasion, if necessary,” Blue ordered nervously.  
“It appears it won’t be necessary,” Aethon replied. “We’re caught in a tractor beam.”  
They were being slowly pulled into the frigate; a set of exterior doors opened up and they were engulfed by the ship.  
“Goodnight,” BTS muttered, and put his head down on his paws.  
Their view of space was cut off as the door closed, and Blue detected something interacting with Aethon on the outside. The ship himself had gone silent.  
She heard the sound of the cargo bay ramp opening, and footsteps coming up it. She decided it would be best to contact her boarders before they got into the cabin and saw BTS, so she hopped down the ladder out of the cabin. The trapdoor shut behind her and locked.  
She walked down the hallway with her hands in the air, one eye covered by snake-glass so she knew where the boarders were.  
“Who goes there?” she called. “I mean no harm, and I hope you mean the same.”  
The boarders, who were still in the cargo bay, heard her through the door separating them. They started whispering among themselves, though about what she couldn’t tell.  
“Open up!” someone finally yelled, banging on the door. “Relinquish the Forerunner artifacts in your possession and submit to arrest!”  
“Relinquish?” she questioned. “I don’t have anything here.”  
“Open up!” the voice repeated, banging loudly on the door.  
The door slid open, revealing a group of Sangheili and a few Kig-Yar, all aiming weapons at her. She kept her hands clearly in the air.  
“Your ship is in possession of sacred artifacts,” the de-facto leader of the group stated. “You will give them up, or be destroyed.”  
“Like I said, I don’t have anything here,” Blue repeated. “But I’ve heard of your Forerunners. I recently spoke with one of their Oracles.”  
The leader glanced at one of his companions. “Come with us,” he ordered shortly.  
She was, once again, aggressively escorted around the premises, though this time the premises were a 1,000-meter-long ship instead of a gas mine. They passed cohorts of other Covenant species, including a handful of Jiralhanae. Blue found her gaze wandering aimlessly around.  
“What’s wrong?” one of her escorts growled. “Move along!”  
They marched her through a maze of hallways and doors, eventually reaching a location Blue would’ve put near the front of the ship, if she’d tracked their movements correctly. They had to pause for admittance into the room.  
The doors slid open to reveal what was most likely a room adjacent to the central command of the ship. The Luminary was on a table in the center of the room, surrounded by a group of people Blue recognized as the ones she’d telepathically gotten all the information about the symbols from.  
“It leads to this creature,” one of the Sangheili standing around the Lumary said. “She possesses two relics of extremely powerful restraint.”  
“Call Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee,” one of her escorts ordered.  
The doors to the right of them opened and a Sangheili in gold-colored armor stepped through. “Already here,” Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee replied. Accompanying him were two hulking creatures, bigger than anything else on the ship - Mgalekgolo bodyguards. The shipmaster walked over to the table with the Luminary on it, putting his hands on the surface and staring intently at the projected symbols. After what seemed like forever to Blue, he looked away from the Luminary and at her.  
“What even are you?” was the first thing he asked.  
Blue straightened up, not about to deny her onlookers a formal introduction. “My name is Blue.” - she paused for barely a second to think of a further description -”daughter of Arlia of the Farsight Clan. I am a warrior of the Lupa, a race long lost. I’ve been in stasis for a few hundred thousand years” - she heard someone choke on the air they were inhaling when she said that - “and have only recently awoken. Your Luminaries seem to have tracked me down because of the energy restraints in my wrists, which I’m dearly sorry about. I didn’t know they would do that; they aren’t Forerunner technology.”  
“You mentioned you recently spoke to a Forerunner Oracle,” the shipmaster pressed, eyes narrow.  
“I know the location of a Forerunner artifact I believe you know as an Oracle,” she said, nodding.  
“You know where there is an Oracle?” ‘Ayanamee marched right up to her, forcing her to look up at him; he was taller than ‘Refumee had been. Damn these tall bastards… Up close, she could see that ‘Ayanamee had dark grey, leathery skin, and fiery amber eyes that burned from beneath the rim of his golden helmet.  
“I do,” Blue said. “The Oracle is located on a gas mine on Threshold. But I advise you to proceed with caution if you want to go after it, because the Oracle has contains a harrowing message that I also happen to possess.”  
“What message?” ‘Ayanamee pressed. “Speak to us, creature!”  
“I would like some more privacy to divulge this statement, because it is of the highest sensitivity,” Blue pushed back, not about to be cowed into submission. ‘Ayanamee said no more of the gas mine; if he knew of ‘Refumee’s existence, he didn’t acknowledge it. So therefore, Blue knew it was safe to conclude he didn’t know.  
‘Ayanamee sensed her resilience and backed off, though he looked like he wished to do otherwise.  
“Bring her after me,” he ordered, and walked through another door, his two Mgalekgolo bodyguards clomping after him.  
Blue’s escort prodded her after ‘Ayanamee, who led them into another side room. Once inside, he dismissed her escort, save for a handful of Sangheili and the two bodyguards.  
“You are among my most trusted comrades,” he said to Blue. “And the Mgalekgolo will not talk.”  
Blue looked back at the gathered Sangheili, worried the most about the three in maroon armor. They were watching her with rather unfriendly eyes.  
_But the show’s gotta go on…_  
She took a calming breath before starting. “I was part of a very powerful race during the early days of the Forerunners. We were political and economic allies in the beginning, but the Forerunners became suspicious of my race out of fear of our developing power. My people did not want to go to war, and many chose to leave this galaxy far behind, start a new home elsewhere. But many of us, including myself, stayed behind to try and work things out in a peaceful manner.”  
She touched her wrists. “Many of us who stayed behind found we could appease the Forerunners if we lessened our own power. We willfully accepted restraint, and they allowed us to stay. But, we were very few, and our culture eventually drifted to its end. I, the last and greatest warrior of my kind, decided to go into stasis, and hopefully reawaken in a better time. A false hope, that our people who had left this galaxy would return.”  
“As deep in sleep as I was, and far away on an isolated world, I escaped the clutches of the dreadful Flood. But I had escaped something else as well, and this is the information I wish I did not have to divulge.” She stopped again to take a breath, and ‘Ayanamee immediately broke in with a “Well, go on, then!”  
She gave him an annoyed look, despite herself. “Allow me a breath. I fear for my life with the divulgence of this information.”  
“You will not be harmed,” ‘Ayanamee promised. She hoped his word held true for the Zealots standing behind her.  
Energy silently rippled up her back, just in case. “The Forerunners activated the Halos while I was asleep. I was not around to witness it, but the Oracle explained to me what the rings did. They wiped all sentient life from the galaxy, so the Flood would have nothing to feed on and would starve to death.”  
As she expected, this was met with an enraged outcry. One of the Zealots moved to draw a weapon, shouting, “This is heresy it speaks!”  
“Hold your fire!” ‘Ayanamee yelled, lifting a hand. The Sangheili settled down, but their eyes were still furious.  
“The creature says she knows where an Oracle is, and that he will tell us the same as her,” he continued. “Until then, you will not harm our guest. If she is proven a liar,” he glared down at Blue with intense amber eyes, “I will kill her myself.”  
But, ‘Ayanamee had also been the first, and only, to refer to her as a “her” rather than as an “it”. It may have been subtle, but Blue knew it meant a whole lot in terms of respect. Once she brought them to Guilty Spark, she had hopes that the Shipmaster would believe her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Aethon, BTS. Make sure the people on the mine are supercloaked. I don’t want them to be discovered._  
She was preparing to be dropped onto the landing platform of the mine’s control node, along with an escort of Sangheili that ‘Ayanamee trusted, and the shipmaster himself. Blue, and two of her escort, had recording devices rigged up (hers to her right eye) that would transmit whatever they saw back to the frigate.  
She’d sent a message to ‘Refumee a while ago, warning him to hide his people. He was to send Guilty Spark to her. However, it had also been made clear that he would not allow Spark to come into the possession of the fleet.  
_Guilty Spark knows how to activate the Halos,_ he had said. _If the frigate brings him back to High Charity, you will have delivered the key for our destruction into the Prophet’s hands._  
They boarded a Phantom dropship to get to the gas mine. Among those escorting Blue were the five Sangheili that had heard her message, along with ‘Ayanamee. She could feel their glares burning into her back.  
_Wouldn’t you just love to shove me off the edge, into the gas clouds…_  
She wouldn’t be surprised if someone tried something. But, she was at full power, so she was sure she could take a fight and win without much trouble.  
The dropship landed with a thump, and the doors opened. Someone prodded Blue in the back, as if to make her fall down the ramp. She let her forwards momentum go, and tucked into a roll. She got up at the bottom of the ramp, and turned around, flashing her gaze at the Sangheili back on the ship.  
They followed her out silently, nobody owning up to having pushed her.  
Unlike last time, there was nobody to open the door for them, but it seemed that one of the Elites knew how to operate the keypad next to the door, and they got it open in a matter of seconds.  
Because of Aethon and BTS’s movements, they would never know of the people who would be on this mine with them. They couldn’t see the hidden people because they were supercloaked, but Blue could. Supercloaking was energized technology, and as another lens, fairy glass, slid across her left eye, a faint shimmer appeared wherever the cloak was.  
Currently, most of the heretics were nowhere near the doorway. There were a few gathered around a corner; Guilty Spark would be with them. They were to send him out to speak with Blue and her escort, and flee with him if someone meant to steal him.  
The airlock opened with a hiss. Blue hoped dearly that kidnapping Guilty Spark was not on anyone’s mind. ‘Refumee had been clear; if anyone tried anything, he would consider it a betrayal.  
They walked inside, door closing behind them. The atmosphere balanced, and they were admitted to the facility.  
The heretics had “abandoned” the place, removing all signs of their recent habitance. Someone had even clawed up one of the walls, like something rampant had been there.  
“There are static Floodforms aboard this mine,” Blue said, noticing one of the Elites glance at the claw marks. “I can sense their putrid presence from a great distance. But they are locked safely away.”  
She walked forwards, and called, “O Holy Oracle, would you be so kind as to grace my humble presence with your endless knowledge?”  
She heard the sound of Spark approaching, and the little robot rounded the corner. “Dear Blue, I am here to answer the questions you ask.”  
Blue inclined her head and touched two fingers to the slope of her forehead, between her eyes, as any Lupine warrior would do upon greeting a superior.  
“Tell me about the Halos,” she said. “Or rather, tell my guests. But please, be kind.”  
Spark drifted past her, coming closer to the Elites. “Oh my, Zealots. I’m very sorry to inform you of your grievous mistake. Or at least, the grievous mistake I was told you made.”  
Blue kept her gaze on the Oracle, so those back on the ships would see and hear everything.  
“I am 343 Guilty Spark,” he continued, “Monitor of Installation 04. I am in charge of the maintenance and oversight of the installation, though it is in a bit of an unfortunate state at the moment.”  
“Tell them why the Forerunners built the Halo rings,” Blue pressed.  
“Oh! Alright,” Spark buzzed. “Is that what you wish to know?”  
“Yes, Holy Oracle,” ‘Ayanamee stated. “This creature claims the Holy Rings are weapons to destroy all life in the galaxy.  
“This interloper has slandered the Forerunners!” A Zealot hissed. “We seek the truth from you so we may be permitted to wipe its heresy from the stars.”  
“Oh dear,” Spark said, sounding very concerned. “You are quite determined. Well, I’m very sorry to say it, but she is correct. The Halo array was designed by the Forerunners as their last weapon against the Flood, to starve it from existence by killing what it feasted upon. Activation of the array will destroy all sentient life within their radii.”  
His words were met by shocked, horrified silence. ‘Ayanamee’s eyes went wide. Blue tensed, gathering power in case one of the Sangheili went rogue.  
“Do not speak it so,” one of them whispered. “O Holy Oracle, say elsewise!”  
“I unfortunately cannot lie to you,” Spark replied, “though I will be glad to answer any new questions that arise from this revelation.”  
The Zealot who’d spoken sat down in the middle of the hallway and stared blankly at the ground.  
Blue couldn’t tell what was going on at the other end of her live video feed, but she was sure it wasn’t pretty. ‘Ayanamee hadn’t tuned his entire crew into the broadcast, but there were still enough officers on board to cause a serious riot.  
“You are very distressed,” Spark was saying, flying around. “It is understandable. Your faith is very strong, though misguided.”  
Blue inwardly grimaced. _Not helpful._  
Another Sangheili had succumbed to the shock, and leaned heavily against the wall, as if suddenly fatigued. He slid down the wall and also took a seat. Two others looked at each other, looked at Guilty Spark, looked back at each other, and one collapsed against the other, who caught him. Blue thought at first that he had outright fainted, but he was emitting a quiet stream of guttural nonsense into his friend’s shoulder, so that didn’t seem to be the case.  
“Heresy!” one of the Zealots yelled, and leapt at Blue, energy sword blazing to life.  
Blue whipped around, wings fanning out to stabilize her. She brought her arms up and locked her wrists in an X; the two energetic rings blazed to life. She caught the sword between the rings, which reacted angrily, shooting off sparks. A bolt of electricity traveled across the blade and into the Zealot’s hand, targeting him as the source of whatever was trying to break the restraints. It momentarily stunned him, and Blue kicked him away from her.  
“Control yourselves!” she yelled, rings blazing around her wrists. “This is no time for rash action!”  
“Rash action is justified in cases of extreme stress,” Guilty Spark suggested.  
Blue glared at him, but didn’t reply. The Zealot who attacked her had not gotten up from where he’d fallen, staring to the ground as if he saw through it.  
“Everything is a lie…” she heard him say. Then, before anyone else moved, he stabbed himself with his own energy sword.  
_Ohno,_ Blue dashed to his side, sliding to the ground. The Zealot glared up at her, indigo blood spreading from his mortal wound.  
“Why?” she asked. “Is there not still hope?”  
“The Great Journey is a lie,” he hissed back to her. “There is no hope.”  
“There is always hope!” Blue countered. “I...I know very little, but I believe your Great Journey can still be true. Here, I can heal you.”  
He knocked her hand away. “You will show us nothing.” Those were his last words.  
She bowed her head. Shutting her eyes, she whispered a short phrase in Lupine.  
“What did you say?” ‘Ayanamee demanded.  
Blue lifted her head. “I said ‘May your journey to the Beyond be swift, warrior’.” She looked upon the distressed group. “I know this is difficult, but there is still hope. I am sorry that you had to discover this, but certainly you understand its implications now, and how important this information is.”  
“She speaks of things beyond my duties as a Monitor,” Guilty Spark added in. “Does anyone have any more questions? I would be delighted to answer.”  
“Will you return to our ship with us, Holy Oracle?” Blue asked, though she already knew the answer.  
Guilty Spark buzzed apologetically. “I’m afraid I cannot...if I return to you ship, you will be duty-bound to deliver me to your leaders, and they will ask me how to activate the Halo. And as I cannot lie, I will tell them, and they will have their wish fulfilled, and life will be gone from this galaxy.”  
Blue nodded, as if regretful but understanding. “Thank you for your services, Holy Oracle.”  
“Any more questions?” Spark pressed. “It can get awfully lonely aboard this mine, and I do enjoy intellectual company.”  
“That’ll be all, O Holy One,” Blue said. The Elites in various stages of standing and sitting around her weren’t looking too into asking questions at the moment. They had seen what she had wanted them to see.  
Only ‘Ayanamee was still standing, watching the Oracle with clear, calculating eyes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. 1.3: The Truth and a Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter, and others like it, are more inspirational than they are pompous. Blue certainly does NOT know how to talk to a crowd like this and is ad libbing more than anything. I feel like a lot of this fic rides the line of that because of how the characters speak (and the fact that I wrote the first draft of this almost four years ago). Let me know what you think!

1.3

The group was admitted back onto the dropship, the Unggoy pilot blissfully unaware of what had occurred, though he got a bit of an idea from the vacant way the Elites were staring, and the fact that one of them was straight-up dead.  
“Fly us back and then we’ll tell you what happened,” one of the Zealots muttered. He then proceeded to sit with his hands over his face the whole ride back.  
Blue felt sorry for the suffering around her, but it had been necessary. They needed to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt. It had earned her ‘Refumee’s alliance, and hopefully more.  
Once they were back on the ship, the pilot started pressing questions again. It made the Sangheili even more upset; she could see it in their eyes. Blue moved past them to speak to the Unggoy.  
“Our meeting with the Holy Oracle went well,” she said quietly, “but he revealed the truth to them, which will be upsetting to every creature on this fleet.” She bowed her head solemnly. “The Halos are not harbingers of the Great Journey; they are weapons of galactic destruction.”  
The pilot whipped around angrily, eyes narrowing. “Slander!” He hissed.  
“No, it’s true,” one of the Sangheili behind her said mournfully. The Unggoy’s eyes widened and he turned away fearfully.  
They exited the ship and were received by another escort; they were allowed no moments of rest to relapse into painful reflection on what they had just learned. They were hustled into a room with a long conference table, off to the side of the ship. ‘Ayanamee took the head of the table, with his bodyguards, arms crossed over his chest.  
“Have a seat, if it may help,” He said to the group that had just arrived. He pointed a finger at Blue. “Don’t sit down. You don’t get that privilege right now.”  
Slightly annoyed by that reception, Blue moved to the wall, crossing her own arms and lowering her head.  
Their escort stayed with them; they had also seen the live video. Blue could tell because of the horror in their eyes.  
‘Ayanamee faced the seated Elites. “We received the same message as you, and we are just as upset, but I believe it is our duty to remain steady and assess the situation as is. I would like to personally commemorate each one of you for having to face this horrible truth head-on. It took indescribable bravery and loyalty to do such a thing.” He gave Blue a sideways glare, making sure she knew the praise did not extend to her. Looking back at the Sangheili, he continued, “I am greatly sorrowed by the loss of one of our own. ‘Ricamee was among my most loyal and dedicated Zealots, and he will be missed, both as a warrior and as a friend. But he made his own choice, and we must respect that.”  
“What shall we do now, Shipmaster?” one of the Zealots asked. “Our way is lost.”  
‘Ayanamee looked resolute. “Our way is not lost, Brother. You heard the Lupa. She believes there is another way, and she will lead us.”  
Blue’s head lifted. _Wait, I will?_  
The Zealot snarled. “She is a hieratic, deserving of no respect,” he hissed. But he hadn’t called her 'it'.  
‘Ayanamee narrowed his eyes. “She has told the truth, unless the Oracle lies as well, and I will not slander upon him so by believing such a suggestion.”  
The Zealot bowed his head and said heavily, “The Oracle speaks the truth.”  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “It is a terrible truth to bear, and so we must proceed with caution. I have not alerted the rest of the crew, just my officers and those commanding aboard the corvettes. This word must not get out yet. I will not be having a riot aboard my ship.”  
The gathered crowd all nodded in agreement. “We will not speak.”  
“You are dismissed, then,” ‘Ayanamee ordered. “You have this evening off, to rest and recuperate. But do not expect the same tomorrow. We have much to do.” he looked over at Blue. “You. Stay here.”  
She nodded and didn’t move from the wall, perched a bit nervously.  
The attending crowd slowly dispersed through the doorway, more than one of them leaning heavily on one of their comrades, as if they’d lost the will to stand. The door shut behind them, leaving Blue along with ‘Ayanamee and the two seemingly mute bodyguards.  
‘Ayanamee had his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the ground. He looked back up at Blue, and his eyes narrowed angrily. She braced herself as he walked towards her, expecting to get yelled at.  
‘Ayanamee moved like lightning, lunging at her. His right hand wrapped around her throat and hoisted her off the ground, slamming her into the wall. The impact shook the wall and knocked the air from her mid-breath, leaving her gasping.  
“Oi!” she yelled, once she got her air back to speak. “Put me down!”  
“I promised I would kill you if you were revealed a liar,” ‘Ayanamee growled, “but the truths you speak are so foul, I am tempted to do so anyways.” His grip tightened. “But I am not one to break an honest agreement. However, I would like to know how to plan to tell this truth to my crew without causing a riot.”  
Blue glared back at him. “If you kill me now, you will regret everything that happens afterwards, up until your death, which will come for sure, if I am not here. And I apparently, I ‘know another way’, as you said, so it must be me who talks to your crew. Lose me, and you’ve lost control.”  
‘Ayanamee glared at her for just a moment more, and then dropped her. Her feet hit the ground and she steadied, crossing her arms as she looked up at him.  
“Rule number one of dealing with me,” She grabbed her lower jaw with one hand, pulling it down to reveal the flamethrower nozzle she had instead of a tongue. ‘Ayanamee, recognizing it, took a step back in surprise.  
She let go of her jaw, mouth clicking shut. “Don’t put your face near my face. I don’t tend to like aggressive people in my personal space like that.”  
‘Ayanamee looked down and away. “You are obviously a skilled warrior. I should be treating you with more respect. Please, forgive my rash actions.”  
“I understand your anger,” Blue reassured him. “But do try to be more considerate in the future.”  
‘Ayanamee wouldn’t look back at her. “What will you do?” he asked.  
“You must tell your crew about our discoveries,” Blue pressed. “They will listen to you more than to me. We are in the middle of a great crisis, one that cannot be stopped by any one of us alone. And they deserve to know. You will tell them the truth.”  
“Two of my Zealots who had watched the broadcast were found dead before you had even returned,” ‘Ayanamee said, voice low. “I fear more will follow.”  
“I will persuade them that life is still worth living,” Blue promised. “If that is what you need from me, to prove my loyalty, then so be it. As far as I am concerned, we who know the truth are not enemies. We must not be. If the Covenant activates the rings, we will all die.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
‘Ayanamee brought Blue up to the command center of the frigate, which was abuzz with information and movement. They ascended to a raised platform from which the shipmaster commanded, communicating with the corvettes that attended the frigate and piloting his own ship.  
The platform was surrounded by holographic displays, all displaying information in a text unknown to Blue. She reached into ‘Ayanamee’s mind and withdrew the knowledge he had, so she could understand the language.  
He snorted, detecting the interaction. Turning to her, he asked, “Was that you?”  
She nodded. “I was curious on how to read these displays. I now know how to read Covenant texts. Sorry for the brief intrusion, I promise you I looked at nothing else.”  
‘Ayanamee turned away without replying.  
The corvettes were patching into the frigate’s broadcast system, ready to receive the message from their commander. They’d gathered their crews together, putting those who already knew about the truth on the fringes, so that they might help maintain control. The frigate’s crew was gathered in four separate groups, partitioning done by species, control measures varied by the predictions they’d made for how everyone would react.  
“Are we online?” ‘Ayanamee asked.  
“This is Shipmistress Chur’R-Kel of the Silent Overwatch. We hear you loud and clear,” the first corvette patched in. “Ready to receive broadcast.”  
The rest of the corvettes responded in similar, connections online.  
“This is Shipmaster Roc ‘Ayanamee aboard the Fearless Wander. As you know, we recently picked up Forerunner signals that led us to the acquisition of an entity of novel origin who calls herself ‘Blue’. She directed us to this location, where she claimed a Holy Oracle resided. The retrieval mission made successful contact with the Oracle. However he would not return to our ship with us. We have recorded footage of the interaction, and it has revealed to us a horrifying truth. It is wrongful of us to keep this information from you, but I ask that you please remain orderly while viewing. This information is most distressing, but it is vital that you remain attentive.”  
He directed the footage from one of the Elite’s recordings to be locally broadcasted to the ships. The image flickered up on one of the holograms next to them, showing Blue rolling down the ramp after the failed attempt at humiliating her.  
‘Ayanamee looked down to one of the attendants. “Can we get a camera rigged up? I want them to see her.”  
Blue let her mind roll over the ships, monitoring the emotions of those onboard. Snake-glass came down over her left eye. The four groups gathered on the frigate shown brightly in her vision when she looked to them.  
The footage rolled on, the dialogue between Blue, Guilty Spark, and the Elites captured. When Guilty Spark revealed the truth, the surge of horrible emotion that occurred on the ships made her breath catch.  
The bright blobs where the crew was gathered had been orderly and still; now they were seething. ‘Ayanamee paused the recording and slammed his hand down onto the controls for the intercom.  
“Steady yourselves!” he bellowed through the speakers. “We are Covenant warriors, not heedless animals, rampaging like primitives. See this through, and then Blue will speak to you, for she says the Great Journey may yet continue.”  
The draconic withheld a wince. He was putting a lot of pressure on her.  
The uproar was mostly quelled through a mix of ‘Ayanamee’s command and the strategically-placed guards. Blue would’ve denied it, had someone asked, but she may also have been sending little, telepathic flares of calming thought around the ships, at the expense of a bit of her power.  
The footage continued, rolling through the death of the Zealot. His words hung angrily on the air, and Blue felt that emotion reflected all around her.  
When the video ended, the uproar broke out again, crewmembers throwing angry questions, or breaking down into cries. ‘Ayanamee once again had to call for order over the intercom before they could continue.  
“Blue, who has led us to this terrible truth, will speak to you now,” he said. “Listen to what she has to say before you fall into chaos.”  
The camera they’d rigged up started broadcasting her image, which replaced the filmed footage on the screen. She faced it nervously, taking a breath.  
_Come on...you can do it._  
“Hello, everyone,” she started a bit shakily, but forced her voice smooth. “My name is Blue, daughter of Arlia of the Farsight Clan. I’m a warrior of the ancient Lupine race, from the time of the Forerunners. I was picked up by your fleet after I left the planet on which I had been asleep for a few hundred thousand years. Prior to this, I had encountered a Forerunner Oracle who spoke of the impending activation of the Halo rings by your people, and the truth of their nature.”  
She took a breath. “I am aware that your Covenant worships the Forerunners as gods, and believes the Halo rings are the key to ascension to godhood. I brought you to him so you could know the truth, before it was too late.”  
_But how...how can I convince them there is still hope. When religion is broken from you, what is left?_  
She lifted her head and looked the camera square in the eye. “Time has weathered my knowledge, as it has yours. I am deeply sorrowed to have brought this great upset to you, but I believe there is still hope. The Great Journey goes on yet, and I am willing to lead you on it, because I have traveled it myself.”  
_I have to lie again. I need to give them something to believe in. I-I don’t have time to think of another way._  
She felt the collective gasp of all the people on the ships, quelled to silence to hear her words, either to flare their growing anger or cling to a final hope.  
“My people called me an Ascendant,” she continued, “and I believe my Ascension and your Great Journey are quite similar. The Forerunners underwent great-self sacrifice, to save life as a whole in the galaxy by destroying themselves. Simply activating the Halos is not what powers the Great Journey. To Ascend, a warrior must be noble, and true to themselves. They must be willing to sacrifice for the good of others. And when they enter the Beyond, they become gods of the next life.”  
She looked away. “I Ascended after I used up all my power to protect a young civilization from destruction by a much stronger race. I could’ve destroyed the attacking ship, but I chose not to, unwilling to watch thousands die by my hands. I propelled them away from the planet, beyond the speed of light, to where they would never return. But I refused to kill them, and in turn sacrificed my own life. But I did not go into the Beyond, for reasons unknown. I Ascended, and was gifted with great power. Power which I willingly restricted, to protect those around me. This mortal world is not meant for gods.”  
She brought her wrists together, and the blue rings flared to life around her wrists. “These are the artifacts that brought you to me. They confine my power down to a fraction of what it was, and will take my life if I attempt to reach beyond. But, we are not here to talk about me.” She lowered her hands. “The Great Journey is still out there, and ready to receive each and every one of you. It will require great work, and dedication, but it is achievable, and I am ready to lead you on it. But first, the firing of the Halos must be stopped. Otherwise, we will all die, and Ascension will be out of our reach, forever.”  
She bowed her head. “Thank you for listening to me. I hope you will think about things in a new light now.”  
The ships were silent. And then, the protests started right back up. But they were different this time, more subtle, people turning to look at each other and wondering, Are we yet not lost?  
‘Ayanamee got back on the intercom. “You must speak none of this to anyone outside this fleet, unless you want to be branded a heretic. This is highly sensitive information, and I expect the necessary level of discipline from all of you.”  
“I will walk among them,” Blue said. “If they have any questions, please send them to me.”  
“Set course for High Charity,” ‘Ayanamee ordered. “We must present this creature to the Prophets, and plot our next course of movement. If she cannot convince them, then we will have to take matters into our own hands.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. 1.4: The Unggoy Underlings

1.4

Blue walked out into the center of the frigate’s resumed activity. When people saw her, they drew back angrily, looking away.  
She ignored them, for the most part, and made her way to a central point in the room, where she seated herself against a pillar, and remained.  
It didn’t take long for someone to approach her. She was expecting a Jiralhanae or Sangheili to be the first, with some sort of aggression in mind. But no, it was an Unggoy that approached her.  
He sidled up to her, trying to look tough, which was really funny because he was only four and a half feet tall and was lugging a large methane tank on his back. She looked to him as he approached, and inclined her head in greeting.  
He stopped just out of her reach, puffing his chest out.  
“Whatchu made of, huh?” was the question he asked, which maybe shouldn’t have been unexpected, in retrospect.  
Blue cocked her head. “You mean my skin? What it is made of?”  
The Unggoy nodded. “Yeah. Skin.”  
Blue lifted on of her arms and looked at its silvery surface. “It’s just a metal of sorts, really. I can control how strong or weak it is, and I can infuse it with energy shielding. It’s called nanocomposite.”  
The Unggoy looked at her suspiciously. “Simple name for a strange creature.”  
Blue chuckled. “I don’t like to be complicated. Speaking of names, what’s yours?”  
“Sirsir. Me Sirsir, son of Tiktik.” the Unggoy looked proud of whatever his lineage entailed. “You Blue. You a strange creature.”  
“Do you think I am a heretic, Sirsir?” Blue asked.  
“Methinks you bad for not listening to Prophets,” he said cautiously. “But me also thinks you true. Holy Oracle agreed with you. It upsets me, but methinks the Oracle does not lie.”  
“The Oracle was telling the truth,” Blue agreed. “It upsets me too, Sirsir.”  
Sirsir sidled closer. “You know about the Shipmaster?”  
Blue cocked her head. “What about him?”  
Sirsir looked around, as if checking to make sure nobody was watching. “He don’t like Prophets much anymore. He is a great pilot, great pilot, but they ignore him all the time. No promotion for Shipmaster. He fight with others too much. So they send him out here, far, far away. Give him skeleton crew full of all the weird ones.”  
“Weird ones?” Blue questioned. “What about them?”  
“Peaceful Brutes,” Sirsir said. “Kind Kig-Yar. Zealots, they the normal ones. Me normal too.” he puffed his chest out again. “Very normal.” He seemed very proud of that.  
Blue had her hand against her cheek, one finger tapping her temple thoughtfully. “What about your friends, the other Unggoy? Are they normal too?”  
Sirsir shrugged. “Some. Some strange. We like to party, but no parties on ships. Party at home. But they party on ship. Noisy. Rude. Bad discipline. But Shipmaster get them in line. Shipmaster takes no slack. He harsh, but fair. I respect the Shipmaster.”  
“Of course you do,” Blue agreed. “I can see that you’re the crack example of a good soldier.” Little Sirsir swelled so much with the praise it looked like he might pop.  
“Sirsir does job well,” he agreed.  
“Do you think I could meet your friends?” Blue asked. “I’d love to.”  
Sirsir looked skeptical. “Many not like you. Say you heretic. But maybe.”  
“When do you usually have a break, for everyone to be together?” Blue asked. “I’d like to drop by then.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“I’m going to meet with some of the Unggoy.”  
“Gonna try to make friends with them?” BTS’s voice echoed quietly inside her head. Blue looked around, scanning the now mostly-empty area she was in.  
“Yeah,” she replied quietly. “One of them approached me and I convinced him to introduce me to his friends. I have to make some kind of a good impression.”  
“They seem like gregarious little things,” the tiger said. “Be funny. Tell some jokes or something. Oh, I heard they like human music too. Notes from the AP. And we’ve got a few tracks in the cargo bay somewhere.”  
“If that’ll convince them that I’m not a hieratic, then I’ll go for it,” Blue confirmed. She spotted Sirsir walking out of a hallway. “My escort is here now. I’ll tell you how it goes later.”  
She dropped the connection. Sirsir walked up to her with a bit of a haughty expression. “They meet with you,” he said, gesturing up the hall. “You follow me.”  
He directed her to come to the rear quarters of the ship, near the engines, where the Unggoy had their barracks. The space was menial at best, noisy because of its location. The ventilation system was also heavily modified, since the Unggoy breathed methane, which happened to be an explosion hazard. The doors all sealed to keep any leaking fumes and exhales from exiting to the rest of the ship, and the sound of ventilation fans only added to the general noise of the area.  
The Unggoy barracks were crowded with the little creatures, walking around this way and that, some with armor, some without armor, all toting their methane tanks. When Blue entered, following Sirsir, they all went quite immediately.  
“Whyu bring her?” someone barked. “She not welcome here!”  
“Mektin the elder said I could!” Sirsir replied harshly. “The creature is well-mannered. Our mommas did not raise us to be rude hosts!”  
The other Unggoy grumbled something under his breath and stomped away.  
Blue held up her hands. “I’ve just come to introduce myself, so we may facilitate good relationships between us. I have come with some offerings of peace for you. I have, stored in my ship, a few articles of very old human music, which I have heard your kind have a good market for.”  
“How you know about the market, eh?” one demanded.  
Blue shrugged. “A mind as vast as mine has a way of simply...learning things.” There was a general murmur throughout the room.  
The Unggoy who’d asked about the market squinted at her. “You shiny. Are you a robot?”  
Blue shook her head. “No, I’m not a robot. I’m just as alive as you are.”  
She held out her hand to the Unggoy. He didn’t move at first, but one of his buddies elbowed him, and he reached out and touched her hand. He jerked back, surprised.  
“She’s warm!” he exclaimed.  
She smiled. “What is your name, friend?”  
“Het,” he replied, staring at her hand still.  
“Actually, I’d like to learn all your names,” Blue said to the surrounding group. “Would you be so kind as to entertain me?”  
“You can’t remember all of us!” someone protested.  
Blue chuckled. “Oh, I will. I do not forget.”  
The Unggoy looked doubtful, but began to sound off anyways, eager to prove her wrong. Each name she absorbed like sunlight, matching it to a face. When they were done, she went back around, walking through the crowd and renaming each and every one to perfection. When she finished, they all stared at her in shock.  
“Whenever I see you, I will greet you by name,” she promised. “If I do not, kindly remind me to do so.”  
Another general murmur went around the group, mutterings between friends and neighbors. They seemed impressed, if begrudgingly so.  
“When will we get to High Charity?” she asked the group. She needed to find something else; they were still suspicious.  
“Tomorrow,” they chorused. “Shipmaster said so.”  
Blue nodded. “Well then, I only have a short bit of time with you; I’d like to meet everyone else as well. But, have you ever heard of magic tricks?”  
If somebody had, they didn’t speak up.  
Blue rubbed her hands together. “Fabulous, either way. Oh, Gil, I believe you’ve got something stuck on your foot.”  
“Huh?” Gil looked down; there was a scrap of rainbow cloth wrapped around his foot. “Wha? How that get there?”  
The rainbow cloth unraveled and slithered across the floor, causing many Unggoy to jump fearfully out of the way. The cloth met up with Blue, where it traveled up her leg, across her body, and down her right arm to come to rest in her hand.  
“Relax, it is just a bit of magic,” Blue said. “And like that -” she spun her hand and the cloth vanished - “it is gone!”  
Many of the Unggoy jumped, looking around nervously. But more of them were looking curious.  
“I prefer cards, honestly,” Blue said. She took a seat on the floor, pulling a deck from her belt. She quickly switched the numbers and symbols to Covenant script.  
“Cards?” someone in the audience muttered. “She plays cards? I like cards…”  
“Now, these tricks are all based on math,” she said. “I promise with all my heart that I am not using any power to do this. If you’re a good audience, maybe I’ll teach you how to do these tricks too. They’re good for parties.”  
The cloth reappeared behind her, peeking over her head. When she looked left, it did too. It mimicked her movements in a comedic fashion; many of the Unggoy started chuckling, though they tried to hide it. She made sure it kept with her movements, though she acted like she didn’t notice it was there.  
Blue looked up at them innocently. “What? What’s so funny?” The cloth tied itself around one of her horns, making a neat bow. She shrugged and continued the card trick, inspiring more laughs. Despite their suspicion, it seemed the creatures couldn’t help but find the act entertaining.  
Sirsir stood next to her, puffing out his chest again. “You see?” he barked. “The creature is kindly. She who knows the joy of music and cards and parties!”  
“It proves nothing,” someone in the audience growled.  
Sirsir glared at the offender. “Your momma taught you poor manners! The Shipmaster allows the creature to stay. And we respect the Shipmaster!”  
“Throw her out!” someone else demanded.  
“Silence your tongues!” a raspy voice barked. The crowd parted, and an older looking Unggoy with many medals displayed on his armor strode forth. He glared at the crowd. “We are Unggoy! We do not squabble like this. That is for Jiralhanae! And throwing people out is for Kig-Yar!” His words brought many angry growls and stomping feet. He waved his hand over the crowd. “We follow the Covenant with faith. Instead of casting out, why do we not teach? As Prophets have taught us!”  
“Mektin the elder is right!” Sirsir agreed. “Respect Mektin the elder!”  
The old Unggoy walked up to Blue and squinted at her. “You prove me wrong, I kill you myself!” he threatened.  
She held up her hands harmlessly. “I promise I won’t, Mektin. Also, you’ll have to fight the Shipmaster for that honor.”  
Mektin may have been raising an eyebrow at her, but it was hard to tell with his methane rebreather on. “We will see about that!”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Must you really go?” one of the Unggoy complained. “You so fun to be around!”  
“It is only fair I give the Kig-Yar a visit too,” Blue said. A few of the Unggoy growled at the mention of the name.  
“Oh, stop it,” Blue reprimanded them. “Treat them with respect and I do believe you’ll start seeing the same come from them to you.”  
“Dirty chickens,” someone muttered.  
Bidding her goodbyes, Blue exited the Unggoy barracks. She trotted down the hall, listening for the close of the door before sending out her telepathy to Aethon and BTS.  
“That wasn’t so bad,” she muttered. “I think they’ve warmed up to me, but only thanks to their respect for their elders.”  
“Really?” BTS asked. “Well, good job there. They were the easy ones. Did you promise them music?”  
“Please,” Aethon muttered. “I’ve been carrying these Earth tracks around for what feels like centuries.”  
“I did,” Blue told them. “I showed them some card tricks. Talked with them. Learned their names.”  
“You were gone for almost six hours,” BTS reasoned. “What next?”  
“We’re going to arrive at High Charity tomorrow,” the draconic reiterated, the words bringing a bubble of nerves to her stomach. “Not a lot of time.”  
“You should talk to the Kig-Yar,” Aethon suggested. “According to our information, they’re the other low-class group in the Covenant. They and the Unggoy spend a lot of time fighting over the bottom of the barrel. You don’t want either of them to think you’re taking sides.”  
“Good thought,” Blue said. “But how will I approach them? None of them have tried talking to me. I don’t think they’re as friendly as the Unggoy.”  
“We don’t have a lot of information on them,” Aethon admitted. “But they have a long history of piracy. Like their material things. Tend to be egotistical.”  
Blue winced. “That won’t make things easy. They’re likely to be suspicious.”  
“You could sneak back to the ship and make some trinkets for them,” BTS suggested. “If they’ve got that magpie personality, which I suspect they do, giving them shiny things is the way to their heart.”  
“That feels very impersonal,” Blue muttered, doubtful.  
“I mean, music albums and card tricks are impersonal too,” the tiger reasoned. “You used them to get the Unggoy’s attention, but you kept it by the other things you did. I’m assuming.” He paused for a bit. “It’s a reputation thing, I guess. With time, maybe you’ll be able to get these people to listen to you. Even if you can’t do that now.”  
“I have to at least try.” the draconic steeled herself. “I’m going to visit the Kig-Yar.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. 1.5: Treasonous Discovery

1.5  
She found her way to the Kig-Yar barracks partially by smell (they let off a strong salty scent). Their doors were open, and they spotted her standing in the doorway, more than one giving off an angry screech.  
Blue held up her hands. “I’ve come with a peace offering, to try and foster a good relationship between us. I would like to make up for any distress I have caused with my arrival.”  
The first thing she noted was that members of the T’vaoan subspecies were not present; they seemed to have created their barracks somewhere else, out of way of the rest of the Kig-Yar, who they considered inferior.  
“You have no business here,” one individual growled. “But show us your items.”  
The draconic withdrew from her utility belt a bag that contained many polished, multicolored stones and metals. She took out one, purple crystal, letting the light sparkle through its facets. The gathered crowd seemed to be entranced by the shiny glow.  
“They are stones and metals from my past, from my homes. I have one for each of you,” she said. “I would also like to learn your names.”  
The Kig-Yar squinted at the stones, then back at her. “What are these trinkets worth?” one demanded to know.  
“Some of them are only found in the places I’ve been,” Blue promised, “so they’re very rare.”  
The speaker stuck out his hand. “Give.”  
As with the Unggoy, she repeated everyone’s name perfectly. It was even easier this time, since there were far more Unggoy than Kig-Yar on the ship. When she completed her rounds, stones handed out, the crowd was in quite a bit of turmoil. Individuals were squabbling over their stones, and seemed to have mostly forgotten their general animosity towards the draconic, for the time being.  
Aroused by the noise, she spotted one of the T’vaoans peeking through the door that separated them from the rest of the Kig-Yar.  
“I have gifts for you as well,” she called to the creature. She held up a shimmering green stone.  
The feathered ruff around the T’vaoan’s neck, identifying her as female, pricked up at the sight of the shiny object. She looked like she very much didn’t want to go among the Kig-Yar, but the shiny object was _so damn attractive._  
Cautiously, she opened the door and stepped through. The Kig-Yar seemed unbothered by her presence, though she acted like they were inferior, wholly ignoring them.  
She was just slightly shorter than Blue, staring her down with intense yellow eyes. Blue held the stone out; the T’vaoan took it from her and held it protectively, admiring its shiny depths.  
“What’s your name?” Blue asked.  
“Chak,” she replied, not looking up from the stone.  
“I have more stones,” Blue said. “I’d like to give them to the rest of your friends.”  
Chak looked up at her suspiciously. “Why share?”  
“Because I am looking to heal any rifts I may have caused,” Blue replied. “I only mean to be a loyal friend.”  
Chak snorted, unconvinced. “Fine. Come, follow.” Her feathers ruffled again, looking distastefully at the Kig-Yar. “Why give them trinkets?”  
“Because I’m apologizing to everyone -” Blue searched through her bag and withdrew a particularly nice, orange crystal, “- what do you think of this stone?”  
Chak’s eyes got wide. “Excellent craftsmanship. Would make a good gift for the matriarch.” She snatched it from Blue’s fingers.  
“Hey, she got two!” one of the other Kig-Yar yelled, pointing. Chak hissed angrily, feathers fluffing up.  
“Lucky you got any!” she growled. “Lesser scum!”  
“We’ll see just how much scum you are when we wipe you across the inside of the bathrooms!” someone in the crowd yelled.  
“Hey, quit it!” Blue yelled, voice amplifying. The Kig-Yar all froze, surprised by the sudden, loud exclamation. Chak, taking advantage of the distraction, ran through the door and quickly locked it behind her.  
“Snob,” someone muttered.  
“Do they have a good reason to not like you?” Blue asked. “The T’vaoans.”  
The Kig-Yar looked at each other, and shrugged. “They think they’re better than us.”  
“That can be changed,” Blue said, waving her hand. “You and them have no reason to be at odds.”  
“Yeah, well, they don’t seem to care,” someone else muttered.  
The room returned to its general disinterest of the draconic. Individuals were dodging off before they could be challenged for their possessions. It wasn’t a friendly reception, like with the Unggoy, but at least they were tolerating her presence.  
The door Chak had gone through was still locked; it didn’t open when Blue approached it. She looked around, wondering if there was another way in, but then it opened. Chak was on the other side, hiding behind the doorframe. She gestured urgently for the draconic to enter.  
Blue walked through the door to where the T’vaoans were; it shut and locked again behind her. The group immediately stopped squabbling, gathered in a rough circle around a female that had to be their matriarch, judging by the colorful threads woven through her feathered crest.  
The matriarch eyed her suspiciously. “Chak says you have gifts.” She had Chak’s orange crystal. Chak looked a bit mournful to have given up her prize.  
Blue nodded. “I do. And would like to know your names.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was very late by the time she finished with the Kig-Yar, too late to visit anyone else; by the ship’s sleep cycles, the barracks would be quiet, at the moment. Exhausted by the flood of information she’d gone through, Blue wanted to do no more than have a seat in a quiet corner and rest her tumultuous mind.  
She had tested her preliminary methods for befriending the masses; at High Charity, she would just have to hope that her ways would work. If she couldn’t get anyone to trust her, then she would never be able to get to the core of the Covenant, to break it apart.  
But for now, she had a ship that she could trust. People who knew the truth about the Halos, and maybe, just a little, believed it.  
She let her mind wander, casting it over the ship’s many crewmembers. There were so many of them, most sleeping now. Unggoy, Kig-Yar, in their big groups in the barracks. Sangheili scattered around the ship, in nicer quarters. Jiralhanae too, most, but not all, of them gathered in one area of the mess hall.  
They were talking. She could read their thoughts as they became words.  
“You’re new from High Charity, last I recalled,” one rumbled. “What’s the news from the capital?”  
The Jiralhanae was slow to respond, looking around himself carefully. “The plan will be in motion soon, brothers. The Prophets are just waiting for the right moment. Action cannot proceed without reason.”  
A few growls echoed around the room.  
“They better find a reason soon,” another rumbled. “I am tired of these elitist Sangheili bossing us around like we’re a bunch of dumb animals.” He smacked the table. “The Prophets must know that we are the better! The stronger, the most faithful!”  
“Patience, brother,” his comrade cautioned. “When the time is right, we will cut those foul split-jaws from the Covenant!”  
“And this ship will be mine,” another growled.  
Blue withdrew back to her own mind, blinking, processing. She felt nervous energy crawling down her back.  
_Are they planning a coup?_  
It sure sounded like it. She returned to the first speaker and scanned through his memories in more detail.  
_Not just a coup of ship...but of the entire Covenant! An all-out genocide of the Sangheili!_  
“Ugh, I’ve got a headache all of a sudden,” her Jiralhanae growled. She quickly jolted back into herself, heart hammering.  
Should she tell ‘Ayanamee now? The chances of him believing her were probably not high, but once she ran into a Jiralhanae who knew, she could have her proof.  
She could ‘Refumee about the genocide. He would have no reason to not believe her, already at odds with the Prophets. But she wouldn’t see him anytime soon. And his small crew of rebels wouldn’t be enough to change much, not if the entire Jiralhanae class rose up.  
This was yet another thing, that if she told, she would also have to trust that ‘Ayanamee would keep quiet. He had understood the necessity to not speak of Guilty Spark’s revelations, so it was logical he would do the same with this information, but this time, the threat was leveled directly at him. And seeing how he could be prone to anger, she feared he would break from this information and botch the whole plan.  
Or was that not giving him enough credit? He certainly did not rise to the status of Shipmaster by anger and lack of control. And as Sirsir had said, he didn’t like the Prophets. Would he really need another excuse to break away from their command?  
She paused, thinking. She could sneak back to Aethon first, and report back to Ambassador Wukong. He would want to know about the situation. It would make taking down the Covenant threat a lot easier, if they were already fighting within themselves.  
She took a breath. She would tell the Ambassador. Then she would tell the Shipmaster. Maybe not everything, but she would tell him some, and see what he knew.  
Mournfully, she left her plans of having a restful evening behind.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“This is most interesting news.” Ambassador Wukong carefully tallied his notes on his datapad. “And very beneficial for us. You may not even have to lift a finger, if we can only guide this fight to consume the Covenant from the inside.”  
“What would you have me do, then?” Blue asked the hologram. “I am not sure when this overthrow will happen. The Jiralhanae said the Prophets were waiting for the right moment. That could be in just a few days, or years.”  
“It will most likely happen within the month,” Wukong calculated. “Words like these are not spread far in advance. I would be ready for anything.” He looked down his nose at the datapad. “Let them dissolve themselves by fighting. Makes things easier for us.”  
“I was going to tell the Shipmaster,” Blue told him. “I believe he deserves to know.”  
Wukong frowned. “He deserves nothing from you. You are not his friend.”  
Blue looked away. “You’re not wrong, but…”  
“Tell them and they’ll have time to prepare, and the revolt could fail,” Wukong stated. “Or it could draw on for a very long time, and consume the Covenant. Do not act, and the fate of the Sangheili is sealed. Either way, it becomes beneficial to us. It will be easier to take down the crippled foe.”  
“Yes, ambassador,” Blue replied, still not looking back at the hologram. “But what of this knowledge? If I tell of it, I could gain valuable allies.”  
“The chance of you successfully gaining the trust of these people is very low,” Wukong replied disdainfully. “It would be less risky to let their own infighting take its course, and wipe up whatever scraps remain.” He waved a dismissive hand. “These people are warring barbarics. They do not deserve your sympathy. If that is the end of your report, I must be going.”  
“It is,” Blue conceded.  
“Very well,” Wukong replied. “I look forward to our next discussion, Blue.”  
The hologram went dark. Blue sighed and shook her head, feeling a bit deflated.  
“Business as usual,” Aethon said dryly.  
“That’s the Gehirnians for you,” the draconic muttered. “All logic, no emotion.”  
“So what are you going to do?” the ship asked.  
Blue looked up, light glowing faintly in her eyes. She squared her shoulders. “I’m going to talk to the Shipmaster.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
‘Ayanamee met with Blue in an empty conference room, dismissing the Elite who’d called him. The Mgalekgolo guards took their silent stance by the door.  
Blue held up her hands. “Promise you won’t slam me into a wall again?”  
“I promise,” ‘Ayanamee said. “What is it now, Blue?”  
“If I say the name Sesa ‘Refumee, do you know who I speak of?” she asked.  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “We got the broadcasts he sent. Everyone did. He wasn’t lying, then?”  
Blue nodded. “He also met with the Holy Oracle, and heard the truth from him. I was just curious if you knew. But there is another thing on my mind, more serious.”  
“Go on,” ‘Ayanamee said.  
She took a breath. “Something sinister is going on between the Prophets and the Jiralhanae. I searched the minds of your Jiralhanae crew...I apologize for the spying, but certainly you understand the necessity of knowing your surroundings.”  
The Shipmaster narrowed his eyes at her. “Certainly. And with your telepathy, it becomes such a simplicity. Though your free roaming of my crews’ minds does little to establish my trust.”  
The draconic held up her hands. “I hope you find the result worth the intrusion. I have reason to believe the Prophets and Jiralhanae are planning to overthrow the Sangheili.”  
‘Ayanamee looked thoughtful. “The Prophets are favoring the Brutes more and more, I have seen. But do you think they mean to revolt against us? Jiralhanae often talk big, but their words are little more than smoke.”  
He was going in the exact direction she wanted him to go, all without her help. She nodded. “I would believe so. I cannot ask anyone to act upon it until I have proof, however, and once again, these things must remain top secret.”  
‘Ayanamee crossed his arms over his chest. “I will speak nothing of it. I hope you are prepared for the things you will face tomorrow. High Charity is not nice to the weak. And if you speak truthfully of this coup, then I expect you will procure some hard evidence. More so than just your words. Because your words are...weighty.”  
Blue nodded again. “I am ready. And I will.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	7. 1.6: High Charity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw two people left kudos that makes me feel so happy :D  
> We've arrived at High Charity now...having to code in all my italics will be the death of me.

1.6  
“Welcome to High Charity.”  
They dropped out of slipspace in view of the massive, mushroom-shaped station, surrounded by clouds of attending warships. The sheer size of it held Blue in awe for a moment.  
_Goodness this place is huge…the AP’s never built anything this big._  
Fearless Wander and her accompanying corvettes cruised towards the lower portion of the city, a long string of spine-like structures where thousands of ships could dock at once.  
“I would have liked to see how you would get to High Charity alone,” ‘Ayanamee appeared at her shoulder. “The security here is rivaled by no other. You would have stood no chance, had we not come along.”  
Blue shrugged. “I would have thought of something. I always do.”  
There was a bit of a jam around the docks, seemingly due to the high ship traffic at the moment. ‘Ayanamee cursed out the other ships more than once.  
“Foolish Jir’a’ul shipmasters,” she heard him growl after another frigate rudely flew across their path. “No respect for other ships at all.”  
They managed to get to the docks with no further run-ins, the Fearless Wander securing in with the corvettes nearby.  
“I will escort you to Tartarus, the Jiralhanae Chieftain,” ‘Ayanamee said. “He is to take you to the Prophets.”  
“Tartarus?” Blue questioned, then internally slapped herself for thinking these people knew Greek mythology.  
“He’s one mean Brute,” she heard ‘Ayanamee mutter. “Bastard…”  
She wasn’t about to question ‘Ayanamee’s past relations with the Chieftain, so she opted to remain politely silent throughout the rest of the docking. ‘Ayanamee did the same.  
“Ship is secured and safe for departure,” someone from down below said.  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “Come with me.”  
Blue was escorted off the ship, accompanied by ‘Ayanamee, his two bodyguards, and a group of Zealots. She hailed the resting minds of Aethon and BTS a quick goodbye as they departed.  
_Stay alert, my friends, in case you are needed…_  
She was escorted into the maze of docks, the extensive umbilical system connecting every ship back to the center pathway of the structure. Her escort fanned out around her, partially hiding her from the sight of those around them.  
The route up to the main city was complex, but she memorized it carefully in her head. She would need to know this city inside and out if she wanted to be successful in her missions. The internal layout was not information she’d been provided with by Ambassador Wukong. She really couldn’t protest that - she never would have expected the AP to be able to infiltrate and map this place.  
“The Prophets reside at the very top of the city,” ‘Ayanamee told her. “You’ll be at the extreme opposite end from us.”  
“Take this,” Blue held out another one of the small transmitter devices. “It’ll allow you and I to communicate mentally. If you touch the center, I’ll be able to hear whatever you say.”  
‘Ayanamee looked doubtfully at the small disc. “How does it work?”  
“Simple transmitting technology,” Blue replied. “Made a whole lot easier since I’m an accomplished telepathic.”  
He still looked unsure.  
“Just take it,” the draconic insisted. The Shipmaster wrinkled his nose a bit, but took the device.  
The transportation system they were on reached their stop, and the escort departed. Waiting for them beyond the platform, which was otherwise empty, was Tartarus, flanked by two other Jiralhanae.  
“You brought the prisoner?” Tartarus didn’t bother to greet ‘Ayanamee with any sort of respect. He looked down at Blue like she was a bit of dirt, beefy arms crossed over his chest.  
Blue narrowed her eyes back at him. _You may be near to three feet taller than I, but don’t think I’m afraid of you._  
“She is not our prisoner,” ‘Ayanamee corrected him. “She is here of her own will.”  
“The Prophets are expecting her,” Tartarus continued calmly, though Blue could sense how ‘Ayanamee’s words irked him. “Hand her off.”  
Her escort moved away from her. She drew her shoulders back, head held proudly. Tartarus grunted at one of the other Jiralhanae, who moved to grab her by the shoulder.  
She held her hand up, stopping him. “Do not put your hands on me. I am perfectly capable of walking on my own, and as Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee said, I am here of my own will. If I wished not to be here, I would not be. Now, show me to the Prophets.”  
Tartarus looked annoyed, but turned to lead her away without a word.  
It was a long and awkward journey to the Prophets, since Blue now felt more like a prisoner than a guest. But she held her head high, and ignored her escort with the same air they gave her. She had little idea where they were taking her; for all she knew, she was about to be bodily thrown in prison with no chance to speak with anyone at all. That would be a setback, and quite upsetting.  
Thankfully, she did not get thrown in prison. However, she was not expecting to be ushered into a massive room with a whole lot more than just the Prophets in it.  
_Oh dear._ They’d escorted her to a sort of meeting hall, sides lined by bleachers full of what appeared to be Sangheili on her right and San’Shyuum on her left. The three High Prophets were straight in front of her, though albeit quite far away, the walk to them lined with Sangheili guards. The guards wore extravagant red and gold armor, and carried long-handled weapons that reminded her of halberds. A bit like her own weapon, which remained hidden on her back, integrated into her armor between her wings.  
Her gaze lingered on the Sangheili. Judging by their presence here, they were part of the ruling class, along with the San’Shyuum. _Do you understand what fate awaits you?_  
She’d stopped for a moment, struck by the size of the place; however, she got her wits back quickly enough to deftly drop a shoulder and avoid getting pushed by one of the Jiralhanae. Her mind was spinning. She had to think; she had to get this right.  
She strode out into the open, holding her head up high. She mantled her wings slightly, making herself appear larger. As she walked, her tail whisked across the ground behind her, the sound quiet but eerie. Everyone was watching.  
She was hustled up to a central, slightly raised platform that was directly across from where the Prophets were. They were dressed extravagantly, in long robes of rich color. The gravity chairs they sat in were designed like thrones, high-backed and lined with shimmering metals. They remained a distance from her, but close enough that she could observe the cataracs filling the eyes of the rightmost individual, the wrinkles in his skin. He was much older than the other two.  
“Kneel before the Hierarchs, creature,” she heard Tartarus growl.  
“I’m sorry, but the Lupa do not kneel to show respect,” she responded, amplifying her voice slightly so all could hear her. Instead, she greeted them in a similar fashion to how she greeted Guilty Spark, bowing her head and putting two fingers between her eyes, though this time she took more merit in bending her legs, still showing humility.  
“You must forgive me for being out-of-date on the current culture,” she said, after rising. “I have been asleep for a long time.”  
“So we have been told,” the central Prophet said, large eyes narrow. “I am the High Prophet of Truth, one of the Hierarchs of the Covenant. You are in the presence of the voice of the gods themselves, creature. Show some respect.”  
“The creature is not of our time,” the rightmost Prophet broke across Truth’s words, voice reedy. “Let this rest. I am the High Prophet of Mercy, Hierarch along with the High Prophets of Truth and Regret.”  
Blue wanted to look within the minds of the Prophets, but the chance they would notice was too great, and even if they couldn’t pinpoint the source of the mental disturbance, she felt it wise to keep the meeting as smooth as possible.  
“We received a transmission from the Fearless Wander, speaking of your discovery and capture,” Mercy continued. “They claimed you are an ancient beast in possession of a pair of artifacts that were used for your...political imprisonment. They also arranged our meeting, saying you believed it of the highest priority.”  
Blue nodded. “The Fearless Wander found me while I was repairing a minor break to my personal ship’s propulsion system. Their Luminaries had caught the signal of the restraints embedded in my wrists and led them to me. Apparently your Luminaries track items of Forerunner origin - which they are not - and I apologize for that mix-up.”  
“In your wrists?” Regret asked. “How can we know you speak the truth then, if we cannot see them?”  
The draconic brought her wrists together, the rings around them blazing to life. She held her hands up. “This is what is left of the restraints I willingly accepted, in order to remain in this galaxy, to keep my people at peace with your Forerunners. My powers are many, even with these bonds. They are locked to my very life force, and removal is impossible without the correct counter-device.”  
“And is that why you came here?” Regret sounded a bit outraged. “Just to seek a personal freedom? You hope we have such a device?”  
Blue shook her head, lowering her hands. “You wouldn’t have it. I am here to ask for admittance into the Covenant. I went into stasis a long time ago, waking to find the Forerunners gone, replaced by this empire. My own people were gone long before then.” She spread her hands. “You are what is left.”  
“The Forerunners ascended to godhood,” Mercy declared. “We, the Covenant, follow their holy path. When we light the rings, as they did, we will become like them.” He haughtily narrowed his eyes. “If your mind can wrap around such grandeur, perhaps you too can follow the faith.”  
“What use are you to us?” Truth asked. “You are but one creature.”  
“Even restrained, my powers and abilities are a force to be reckoned with,” Blue proclaimed. Her mind was tumultuous, trying to put words together and make them sound impressive. “Among my people, the Lupa, I was known as an Ascendant, a being of great power achieved through a lifetime of humble service and personal sacrifice. So strong were we, that even the Forerunners feared us. It is why I remain chained today, so they would not destroy us out of that fear.”  
“Indeed that strikes me as impressive,” Mercy said before either of the two Prophets could speak. “Would you be so kind as so entertain me of your history with the Forerunners?”  
Blue nodded, obliged. She quickly pieced together another retelling of her false tale. “The Forerunners and I, well, I don’t have much personal history with them. But my people did not always get along with them,” she began. Regret drew back angrily, but she held up her hands complacently, stopping the motion. “Please, bear with me. While my people and theirs did not always see eye-to-eye, I have forgiven that, and I respect the Forerunners for the vastly powerful people they were.”  
She put her hands down. “You see, the Lupa, we lived in harmony with the Forerunners in the beginning. We were going to build empires together. We supported them, and they supported us. But then, they became suspicious of us.”  
She put her hands behind her back. “They were strong because of their technology; we were strong because of our natures. We could do things they couldn’t explain, and we were becoming stronger every day. We had no wish to bring war between our nations. Relations remained peaceful, but slowly we drew apart. Fearing destruction, and knowing it was the best for peace, many of my ancestors left this galaxy. I, along with many others, stayed behind to try and work out the situation. The solution was our restraint, and the eventual fading of my culture from existence.”  
She looked back to the Prophets, eyes intense. “We took our bonds to keep peace in the galaxy. Some of us regretted it. A few of my companions even killed themselves in attempts to escape. Even today, after all this time, they still control me.” She pressed her wrists together again so the blue rings would appear. “The shackles still remain around me. I hold but a fraction of my original power, the rest of it locked away, and if I try to reach beyond, I will be destroyed.”  
She looked away, bowing her head. “But yet I continue to strive for a righteous life, in harmony with those I share it with. Many of my brethren, were they still alive today, would probably denounce this faction for its worship of those who caused our people to leave this galaxy. But I have seen beyond our differences, and I know that we are stronger together. The Forerunners mistrusted my people because of fear, and my people left because of fear. And fear is something I understand all too well.”  
The hall was silent, save for the attendants off to the sides whispering to each other. Regret was still looking at her with skepticism, but Mercy looked downright inspired. Truth showed no emotion.  
“What an intriguing tale,” Mercy stated. “What wonders you must have seen, walking among the Forerunners.”  
Blue nodded. “I knew them in their many forms, each greater than the last.”  
“You have vast knowledge, it would seem,” Truth finally spoke. “That may be of use.”  
“My mind has unfortunately been clouded from my millennia of slumber,” she replied. “I remember but a fraction of my original life, though I would be happy to attempt to assist with any questions about Forerunner technology. However, I believe that I would better serve you as a warrior for your cause.”  
“You want to fight?” Regret questioned. “What makes you any better than one of our own in that field?”  
Blue held her head high, shoulders back. “I am a humble warrior, but I am unparalleled. In my prime, I could take over entire ships on my own, bring fleets to the ground. I could stop a hundred enemies with a wave of my hand. I have control of fire, water, air, and earth. I could bury them beneath landslides, steal the air from their lungs, or bring whole rivers to bear to drown them all. Even in my restrained state, I am formidable, expert of all weapons and martial arts. And seeing that it is custom among the Lupa to prove themselves through trial by combat, I would be more than happy to oblige you with such a performance.”  
“A trial by combat?” Regret seemed interested. “I’m sure such a thing could be arranged.”  
“It would be a nonlethal thing, a valiant fight of fists, feet, and fury,” Blue suggested. “I wish not to kill any of my future comrades.”  
“Such can indeed be arranged!” Mercy agreed with Regret. “The best fighters in the city will be called, an arena prepared. What a spectacle it will be!”  
Blue nodded. “I will await this opportunity to prove myself with excitement.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue was escorted to another part of the tower, where there were apartment-style living quarters for Councilors and their guests. They’d found her an empty apartment to wait in, her Jiralhanae escorts unceremoniously shoving her in and slamming the door behind her. Snake-glass, her infrared vision, told her there was a guard station outside.  
The emptiness of the apartment did not bother her. She sat against the wall and took the chance to rest her mind.  
Everything seemed to be going...decent. She was still receiving a lot of hostility, and didn’t expect that to stop, but the hostility was mostly coming from those she’d continue to call her enemy. So she was fine with that.  
She reached out and found Aethon’s mind. _Aethon, do you have a moment?_  
_Of course!_ The ship exclaimed. _How did it go? Please don’t tell me you’re in jail._  
She smiled a bit. _No, Aethon, I’m fine. Though they’re going to have a trial-by-combat to prove my worthiness for joining them._  
_What? Are you sure that’s a good idea?_ His mind was nervous.  
_I need to prove myself,_ she insisted. _And if this’ll do it, I’ll take it. Rather a trial by combat than a trial by scholarship. I’m making a mess of myself up here, pretending that I knew the Forerunners and everything. I’m trying to be vague. I’m trying not to say too much._ She grimaced unhappily. _Of all the dumb backstories to create for myself, why did I go with this one?_  
_Be careful, please,_ the ship asked of her.  
About ten minutes into her rest, ‘Ayanamee popped up in her head.  
_Blue? You there?_  
She was slightly annoyed by this breach of her peace, but she replied anyways.  
_Of course I’m here. This is my mind. Anyways, what is it?_  
_You said the heretic - well, not anymore - ‘Refumee had also talked to the Holy Oracle. Did ‘Refumee also happen to talk to the Oracle on the same gas mine we visited? Which would imply that he and his band were there when we were?_  
Blue winced. Of course, how could she have thought the Shipmaster wouldn’t have figured it out? _Yes, he was there. But I had talked to him before, and he knew to keep his people away from us. No harm would have come._  
_You didn’t tell me?_ ‘Ayanamee sounded angry.  
_How could I have? “Oh, we need to go to this gas mine, by the way it’s got a bunch of heretics on it, but don’t worry they’re nice.” No! You would never have believed me, and I probably would’ve been killed outright._  
‘Ayanamee was silent. Then, _I guess you’re right about that._  
Blue frowned. _See? They aren’t heretics, but back then you thought they were. And it was the only way to get you the truth that you would believe._  
He seemed a bit grudging. _Alright. How did your meeting with the High Prophets go?_  
_Good, I think. I convinced them to let me do a trial-by-combat to prove my skills. I met with the entire High Council._  
_What?_ ‘Ayanamee sounded like he hadn’t expected that. _The entire High Council? I did not think this matter would be of such critical importance to them._  
_They’re going to vote after the fights to let me into the Covenant or not,_ Blue replied. _I think I’ve got this covered._  
_You sound confident. I wish you the best of luck. You will need it._  
Blue couldn’t help but smile a little. _Thanks._  
‘Ayanamee dropped the line, leaving her alone. Finally, she could get a bit of rest.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. 1.7: The Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first major fight of the fic. My goal was to make it easy to follow and engaging - please let me know if you have any thoughts. Writing combat is one of those things that, in my opinion, can be difficult to write well. Especially with Blue, since her character and fighting style have evolved so much over the six-ish years she's existed as one of my OCs. My own fault for writing this four years ago and not doing anything with it until now :/  
> Me from four years ago apparently thought Wolverine was cool I guess

1.7  
The guards banging loudly on her door called her from her meditative state. She rose and walked to the door, opening it.  
“I’m here, I’m here,” she said. “No need to fuss.”  
“The High Prophets will not like your latency,” one of the Jiralhanae growled. Blue resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing very well they’d be on time.  
She was hustled back down the corridors, through the tower, and out. They were not returning to the chamber of the High Council, though she could reckon a guess to their actual destination.  
The Prophets, it seemed, had spent a bit of time designing a makeshift arena beneath the high wall of the High Council tower. The area they had picked was surrounded by stadium-style seating, which were already filling up with groups of Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and some other species Blue had not yet encountered. Two sections of the seats had been barred off to the general crowd, reserved for the Councilors and San'Shyuum. They were surrounded by Honor Guardsmen, standing silently with their halberds. The three High Prophets were seated far above the crowd, on a ledge protruding from the tower, with their own guard.  
Blue caught her soon-to-be contestants in her gaze. Down at the bottom of the seating, a gathered crowd of Jiralhanae, Sangheili, and even a few beefier T’vaoans were waiting. These were the elite fighters that the Prophets had gathered, under the pretext of a open-handed melee.  
_Jiralhanae. Not gonna work well with the Sangheili. Really frickin’ strong. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall._  
The Sangheili would be a more formidable enemy. Unlike the Jiralhanae, she guessed they would work together. It would take a lot to keep them down.  
She was ushered into the ring, amidst a cacophony of noise. The gathering crowd was eager to see the incoming fight, and cheered loudly for the contestants. Her escort backed off, exiting the ring; they seemed happy to.  
She looked around. They’d given the melee quite a bit of space, the arena perhaps thirty feet across. She did have quite the number of challengers, after all.  
“Quiet, you rabble!” Tartarus was off to the side, yelling at the crowd. They hushed up once they heard him.  
“This contest will end when one side fails to rise and continue the fight,” Truth declared from above. “The creature seeks to prove her worth as a warrior for the Covenant! Let this performance judge her.”  
“Any words to say beforehand, creature?” Regret asked.  
Blue lifted her head. “Send me your best, and I will fight them, hand to hand!” her voice echoed with the power of thunder. She lifted her arms in the air, baring her claws. “I will vanquish all foes to prove my wish to serve! Will you not believe me after I show you what I can do?” She lowered her hands. “I will even remove the energy that shields my body from within my armored skin, so there will be nothing between me and justice but my pure power and skill!”  
She kept to her word, and shut down her energy shields. The faint glow that edged some of her armor plates vanished.  
“It is only fair our chosen fighters do the same, if they have not already,” Mercy declared, though it seemed Regret disliked the statement. The younger Prophet was frowning, arms crossed. He glared at the ring mightily.  
Her crowd of foes was getting rowdy, mostly because of the Jiralhanae. They were the first to jump the barrier ringing the arena, ready for a fight. They laughed, punched each other, flexing muscles and pounding fists together. The Sangheili and T’vaoans who joined them were altogether more refined. They were shooting glares back and forth, watching each other just as much as the draconic.  
Blue pulled her shoulders back, flexing her claws. Her tail lashed, metal plates skating over the ground with that haunting, swishing sound. Her jaws parted, air hissing over and between her teeth. She saw one T’vaoan’s crest go down a little, the alien intimidated.  
“Let the battle begin!” Truth declared.  
The first contender to come at her was a Jiralhanae, way too eager to fight her. He saw her only slightly-larger-than-human size as a weakness, but one of her good friends in the AP was a seven-foot tall reptilian who could crush steel beams with his jaws. The Jiralhanae were bigger than he was, but Ambassador Kebos had made sure she knew how to fight against much larger enemies.  
She jumped into the air, twisting, knees drawn up, feet tucked, passing right over the Jiralhanae’s right shoulder. Her tail hit him squarely in the face, whipping his head around, the rest of his body following as he crashed to the ground. A speedy T’vaoan that had been right behind him tripped over his body and went flying away.  
_They don’t know how to work together in a situation like this!_  
She landed, attention back to the oncoming wave, and wasted no time, springing into the air again. She twisted her neck around as she flipped, bringing the ground and the very angry mob of aliens into sight.  
Her wings snapped open, the black membranes almost seeming to absorb the light. Her body twisted around in an arc, hind feet swinging down, claws locked together, creating a metal pendulum that hit another Jiralhanae in the side of the head, knocking him over. The sound clanged like a gong.  
She heard an audible gasp from the crowd, both shocked by her sudden use of her wings and the speed at which she’d dispatched two Jiralhanae. She was fast, faster than they had expected.  
She landed, thrusting her wings out to the side, feeling two bodies crunch into the deceivingly-inflexible surfaces. Someone grabbed her wing and yanked on it, pulling her off balance. A Sangheili plowed into her chest with the force of a small car, knocking her off her feet. She landed on her back, hissing. The Sangheili who’d knocked her over jumped on top of her, fists raised.  
She screamed, the soundwave generated so percussive that the Sangheili flinched and covered his ears. She kicked sideways with both legs, her shins hitting the inside of his tarsal joints, buckling them. He fell to her right, absorbing the blow from an angry Jiralhanae foot that had been aimed at her (though the kick could’ve been aimed for the Sangheili all along and nobody would’ve been surprised). She pressed her shoulders into the ground, arching her back and flipping to her feet, dodging another swing from another assailant.  
She pumped one knee up, launching herself into the air. Her other foot swung around, aiming for the Jiralhanae who’d kicked at her but hitting a T’vaoan who’d gotten in the way instead. The Jiralhanae-strength-level kick against a not-Jiralhanae nearly snapped the T’vaoan’s neck in an instant, and he dropped like a stone. She grimaced, but she had no time to waste - the Jiralhanae she’d meant to kick was coming right at her. And then, someone grabbed her from behind.  
_Why, thank you. This makes things easier._  
She kicked both feet up off the ground, tucking her knees to her chest; her attacker took her weight. A double kick hit the Jiralhanae in the head and stomach simultaneously, knocking him off his charge. She extended her wings into whoever was holding her once her feet got back to the ground, knocking them off theirs, but they refused to let go. Their weight dragged her back down, and an angry Jiralhanae foot appeared over her face.  
Angry Jiralhanae foot encountered her hand; she twisted his ankle and felt it snap. It’s owner went howling away, the pain completely unexpected. Blue put her hands down, reached back, and grabbed the shoulders of whoever was still holding her arms; she’d landed right on top of their head and trapped them. Back arched again, she kicked her feet against the ground and flipped upwards, pressing her trapped assailant, who she could now see was another Sangheili, against the floor. Just as she hoped he would, he attempted to get up, extra thrust from him pushing himself off the ground traveling up her arms and launching her into the air.  
Her wings snapped open again, sweeping her out of reach of those on the ground. She began to inhale, metal plates along her neck and back starting to ripple.  
She dove, swinging her hind feet around and grabbing onto a Jiralhanae’s arm, kicking off of it and bouncing to the next and the next, feet striking with incredible strength. Bolts of energy shot from her hands, striking those who came at her from the front. She ran the ring around until a Jiralhanae grabbed her tail, pulling her to a halt. A Sangheili came springing out of the crowd, crashing into her and bringing the both of them to the ground. He struck her across the face, snapping her head sideways. She snarled, claws swinging up. He blocked her hits, one, two, three, and moved to strike her again, but a Jiralhanae barreled into him and kicked him off her, cursing.  
_Y’all need to learn how to work together better..._ She activated the rocket thrusters in her back and blasted away from the Jiralhanae, horns crashing into a T’vaoan’s feet and knocking him over. She didn’t stop until she was all the way across the makeshift arena, the remaining challengers turning to charge at her.  
Tension rippled across her metal skin, armor plates on her neck and back lifting like spines. The air intakes behind the short spikes on her cheeks dropped open.  
_Ok, let’s see how you like getting taken down by something you can’t see..._ She charged, air flying from her body, compression chambers all along her neck and back emptying into her throat and ripping out of her jaws.  
Her roar hung on the air like thunder, covering the crunches and shrieks generated as the wave of air slammed into the advancing forces. They stumbled, doubling over, some falling, clutching blindly at the air trying to figure out what had hit them. The watching crowd was terribly silent, their goading and jeering stopped.  
She stopped, standing still. She wouldn’t be able to do that trick again - she needed time to recompress the air. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to.  
She took a step forward, one foot directly in front of the other, wings extended out to her sides elegantly, neck arched, head down but eyes up, glowing. Her tail whisked eerily across the ground. She took another step forward, and saw a T’vaoan take a step back.  
She thrust her hands forwards, claws bared, and those who’d gotten back up from the strike of the wind were knocked over again, this time by an invisible, windless force that emanated from her hands. She could feel the energy rushing through her ears, heart beating. She had to be careful with how much power she used. If she got tired, the mob would have no trouble taking her down.  
A Sangheili began to stand up. Her gaze locked onto him, eyes intensifying. “Stay...down…” she hissed, locking her will against his. Invisible strands of magic wrapped around his limbs, restraining him. She could feel him fighting against her with all his strength, her vision darkening on the edges with the intensity of her concentration. She clenched her teeth together and sent a final burst of energy away from her, pushing him back to the ground.  
She dropped her invisible hold. The arena in front of her was full of unconscious, doubled over figures, some of them unable to get back up, others able but not really wanting to do so. All the T’vaoans that could walk had fled the arena without a second thought. The Sangheili, of course, were all getting back to their feet (the ones that could), even one whose leg was either broken or badly sprained, barely able to take even a bit of weight.  
She nodded her head respectfully to their efforts, and charged.  
She moved so fast that those who blinked missed it. She slid to the ground, sweeping the limping one’s only good leg out from under him and rising up in front of another, claws bared and striking, one, two, three. They traded blows and blocks, and another plowed into her from the side, striking the side of her head. She spun away, dropping to all fours, shaking her head to get rid of the ringing. Roaring, she charged, tearing across the ground even faster than she had before. Her horns hit her target’s chest, sending him flying backwards.  
Another Sangheili crashed into her side, and she relaxed, caving away in front of him and completely tripping him up in a tangle of her limbs. She slithered away and back to her feet.  
One of the Jiralhanae had gotten back up and was circling her angrily, but looked unsure about going one-to-one with the creature. She jumped over another Sangheili and lifted her hands up, gesturing for him to come at her. The universal sign of goading worked; he charged, fists swinging, and she leapt, meeting him in midair, wings extending. He feinted her out, though, and his fist hit her square in the chest, knocking the air from her lungs.  
She was thrown into the ground, gasping. The Jiralhanae’s hand closed around her neck, lifting her off the ground and slamming her down again. The shocks rippled across her back, making her howl angrily. Electricity jumped from her skin and zipping up his arm, making him let go of her. She blasted away with her thrusters, back to her feet in an instant.  
_Let’s end this._ She extended her arms out to her sides, blue energy glowing at the tips of her claws. The Jiralhanae came at her, and she struck, white-hot claws carving rents in his armor and burning skin where they contacted. He howled in pain and fell, clutching at his face. She jumped onto his shoulders and springboarded off of him, landing on a Sangheili, who promptly threw her off, avoiding her burning claws.  
She drew her shoulders back, claws up, and roared in challenge. Energy jumped from her fingertips and knocked whoever was still up off their feet again.  
This time, nobody got back up. Her energy was pounding in her hands, rushing in her ears, making the silence ring.  
She waited. Nothing. She lowered her hands. The arena was still and quiet, everyone staring at her. She looked around, tail whispering over the ground as she walked among those she’d downed, mostly unconscious, the few who weren’t too weak to stand.  
“Now,” she said, facing the Prophets, “witness my _true_ power.”  
She lifted her hands. The air around her glowed, thrumming with a particular energy. All around her, the light swept over the injured, healing cuts, burns, broken bones, bleeding fading away, wounds knitting. Those unconscious awoke, fresh energy filling their bodies. She walked among them, light glowing around her like an aura.  
She lowered her hands, light fading. Her vision had gone a little fuzzy at the edges, but slowly faded back to normal. Maybe it was excessive. But these people needed to think she was stronger than she actually was.  
“And that is just a fraction of what I am capable of,” she proclaimed, facing the Prophets. “I have taken no lives here, but if I had wished to do so, this would’ve been an arena of corpses.” She gestured behind her, eyes fixed on the three figures high above.  
Pain ripped through her back and she inhaled sharply, gasping. The tip of a superheated blade protruded through her chest, glowing blue fluid leaking around the edges. Her vision blurred, eyes slitting. She could hear the heavy breathing of the Jiralhanae behind her, holding the other end of the weapon.  
_What? No, that’s cheating!_  
Her hands wrapped around the metal protruding from her chest. She felt the Jiralhanae yanking on the other end, trying to remove the weapon, but her entire body had gone stiff, refusing to yield, let go, or fall. If he ripped his weapon free, her energy would spill from her like battery fluid, and in her weakened state, she wasn’t sure if she could recover.  
She heard a gunshot and a metal spike stabbed through her neck, coming out at the base of her throat. She gasped, grabbing the bolt instinctively as more pain radiated from it. The metal was superheated, hot but not burning against her fingers, though against a normal creature it would be agony to touch.  
Her energy was already attacking the metals buried within her body, trying to break them down. She took a breath, trying to keep her vision steady. Bracing, she jerked forwards, and ripped the weapon from her attacker’s grasp. He stumbled back, eyes wide in shock as the creature, who clearly should have died by now, continued to stand, staunching her own wounds with the very weapon he had tried to kill her with.  
The blade and bolt broke apart in the middle, energy finally eating through them. She turned, eyes burning with a fever, facing the Jiralhanae who’d stabbed her. The wounds on her back and chest were filled with the color of the blade and bolt, slowly being consumed by her silver nanocomposite as it healed over the ramshackle scabs.  
She shook her head. “I am sorry you did that.”  
And then she struck, like lightning and without mercy. Long blades extended from the knuckles of one hand, Lupine fighting claws that were built into her armor. The blades drove through the Jiralhanae’s armor and into his chest; he fell to the ground, spasming. She withdrew the blades from his body, purplish-red blood following, splattering against her face and chest. She stepped down from the soon-to-be-corpse, blades withdrawing back into her armor.  
She faced the Prophets, blood dripping from her body onto the ground. She felt a sort of numb anger coursing through her body. “As I was saying...Do you require any more proof? Because I can provide.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The slain Jiralhanae had broken the terms of the trial, it was easily determined, inviting a return-fire with Blue’s own weapons. The High Council, especially the Sangheili portion, considered his death a trivial consequence of his own rash actions.  
Blue was escorted back to her quarters with much more reverence (and perhaps a bit more anger as well) than before. As she left the arena, she could hear some of the Unggoy cheering.  
Back in the empty apartment, she contacted Aethon, and then ‘Ayanamee.  
_I beat them all. I think I’m gonna get in._  
_Good for you!!_ The ship cheered.  
She shook her head a bit. _I just got lucky. The people I had to fight were terrible at working together. If they had coordinated their attacks, I would never have been able to beat them._  
Then ‘Ayanamee: _But you did beat them. That is good news. The atmosphere around here has gotten hostile since the time I last left High Charity._  
Blue nodded thoughtfully. _The Jiralhanae are definitely planning something, and I’m going to find out what as fast as possible. Would you also know the ways to get to the residences of the Unggoy and Kig-Yar? I’d like to pay them a visit._  
_Sure thing._ ‘Ayanamee knew the way; she drew it from his memories.  
_Anyways,_ he continued, _I’m keeping my people close. Keep me updated on your progress. Find me proof of this treachery._  
He dropped the line, leaving Blue with her thoughts.  
She knew what the Jiralhanae were planning. Now, she just needed to find someone else who knew, and who could tell everyone else.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	9. 1.8: The Demagogue

1.8  
This time, when the Jiralhanae guards moved to knock on her door, she used her thermal vision to anticipate the motion and opened the door before they got the chance.  
Tartarus was outside, looking grumpy, as usual.  
“The Council has voted to admit you into the Covenant,” he said. “The High Prophets wish to see you.”  
Nobody made a move to grab her or shove her along as they walked, retracing the path to the High Council Chamber. They diverted from that path near its end, however, clearly seeking a different destination.  
They came upon a long hallway, flanked by Honor Guardsmen, a massive door at the end. They walked the path silently, save for their footfalls and the swish of Blue’s tail over the floor. The Guardsmen paid them no heed.  
The doors opened before them, revealing a luxurious space beyond. She was escorted through; the doors closed behind them. They receded from the doorway, which was quickly lost as they turned a corner.  
The three Prophets were floating beyond, near to what Blue recognized as another Luminary, attended by other San’Shyuum and Honor Guardsmen. She immediately reached her mind out to the device; it was much more complicated than the one aboard the Fearless Wander. However, the internals seemed about the same, and she was sure the fake restraints in her wrists would activate it correctly.  
“Thank you, Tartarus,” Truth greeted them. He looked down at Blue, hiding his emotion well, but she could sense his general displeasure. In contrast, Mercy seemed quite excited to have her here.  
“I am curious to see if you’ve spoken the truth about your artifacts,” Truth said. “If you are false, darkness awaits you.”  
“I am no liar,” Blue said, though she was very much lying. “The Luminary will show you.”  
Truth nodded to the Stewards, who turned to activate the Luminary. Blue couldn’t help but hold her breath a bit. But, when time came for her scheming to pull through, it did. This Luminary displayed the same set of symbols that the one aboard the Fearless Wander had, and the Prophets looked assured.  
“So she indeed possesses artifacts!” Mercy seemed overly excited. “What a pity they are not of Forerunner origin, and inaccessible to us…”  
“We could just cut them from her wrists,” Regret suggested. “What’s her life worth in comparison to them?”  
“I fear forced removal also causes detonation of the devices,” Blue broke in, “if I remember what my captors told me correctly.” Regret looked annoyed.  
“Her life is worth more than the devices she carries,” Mercy defended her. “She has proven herself triumphant on the battlefield. The potential she carries for helping us defeat the foul humans is massive!”  
“She is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, yes,” Truth countered, “but how would she do in the real world, among guns and artillery?”  
“If you’ll allow me to defend myself, I can give you a detailed list of my skills with weaponry,” Blue broke in. “While I may be behind the times on the current technology, I believe my training is still on par.”  
“Entertain us, then,” Regret said, almost as a challenge.  
Blue put her hands behind her back. “It is universal for all Lupine warriors to be skilled in close combat, especially against multiple foes. I am also trained, as you saw, in blades. One of my advantages, being an Ascendant, is that my body, my armor, and my weapons have become one. It requires great skill to be able to wield Lupine fighting claws. Three on each hand, one on each foot, and one on each wing. They utilize energetic technology, and can cut through unshielded material with ease. I am skilled in all counts of their use.”  
“Impressive in number, but they are just words,” Truth challenged.  
Blue nodded. “I would ask to allow a demonstration, but I feel that this is the incorrect environment for such.” She eyed the silent Honor Guardsmen as she said this, hoping the Prophet wouldn’t ask her to fight them. “I am also skilled in the use of all sorts of projectile weapons and artillery, though I usually chose to fight with my own powers when at range.”  
“Can you defend against the mighty weapons your enemies wield?” Truth asked.  
Blue nodded. “I have energetic shielding built into my armor, which even on its own is strong. I have survived shots from shipmounted weapons before, unscathed. I’m not sure how to compare it to your own shielding technologies, but I can say with confidence my shields will last longer against an equal weapon than any of yours.”  
“Impressive,” Mercy said. “You must have a quite detailed knowledge of war and strategy, as well.”  
“Much of that was lost due to the mental trauma I suffered, but I am still formidable in that manner,” Blue agreed. She had to be careful, because she was in fact not a master of war and strategy.  
“I say we not let this creature onto the field of battle, just yet,” Truth was pushing Mercy and Regret. “She has yet to prove the skills she claims to have.”  
“I agree with your words,” Regret said. “We must first evaluate her abilities.”  
Outnumbered, Mercy caved, nodding.  
“It is declared,” Truth stated. “You may escort her back to her quarters, Tartarus. Starting tomorrow, we will see what she can do.”  
“Yes, Hierarch,” Tartarus replied. “Come, creature.”  
“My name is Blue,” Blue told him politely. “I would greatly appreciate if you would call me as such.”  
As they exited, she let her mind drift into those around her. Truth knew. Tartarus knew. The other two Jiralhanae did not.  
_I swear if I have to capture Tartarus of all creatures..._ but she would do as she had to.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
So the Prophet’s will be done, and Blue was tasked with test after test, so they could get their own opinion of her claims. Thankfully, they allowed her free roam of the city when they weren’t testing her, so she could explore the place. But she could tell someone was always watching her.  
_Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee...do you know where Sirsir is?_  
_Sirsir?_  
_He’s one of your Unggoy._  
_Oh, him. He’s with the rest of them, in the methane fields._  
Blue knew the way from ‘Ayanamee’s mind, and so she followed it down.  
The methane fields were below the actual city, which appeared to float above them (a bit of an explosion hazard, maybe?). She had some trouble finding her way, but nobody challenged her, which was endearing, though an offer of directions would have been nice. However, she’d already dealt with three Jiralhanae and two Sangheili aggressors in the past two days, so if nobody speaking with her meant no more fights, she would take that.  
The methane fields were sectioned off from everywhere else by an energy barrier and an airlock, which Blue entered through. She threw her mind across the vast space, trying to find the one Unggoy she knew.  
Sirsir was nowhere near the entrance, so when she stepped out into the fields, everyone stared at her blankly.  
“Hi,” she said, waving. “I was curious to see what this place looked like; sorry if I’m intruding.”  
“She can breathe in here?” someone muttered dubiously.  
“Big silver who pounds Brutes,” one of the nearby Unggoy said. “You brave.”  
“Why thank you,” Blue replied graciously. “I think you’re very brave too.”  
The Unggoy looked confused. “Me? Brave?”  
“Whyu here?” another demanded.  
“To make an acquaintance of myself,” Blue replied. “I’m excited to meet all of you.”  
“You never meet all of us!” someone else called. “Too many!”  
“I can make an honest effort,” Blue replied with a chuckle. “I already know a few of you.” lifting her head, she called out the list of names of the Unggoy from the Fearless Wander.  
“Eh?” Sirsir pushed through the crowd, followed by the others. “Ay, Blue! You remembered all of us!”  
“Sirsir!” she happily greeted him. “Good to see you, friend!”  
Sirsir bounced up to her, much lighter in step when he didn’t have to carry a methane tank around. “Everyone, this my friend, Blue. She a good friend. She know magic.”  
The Unggoy were muttering among themselves. Blue’s rainbow cloth popped out from behind one of them; he noticed it and screeched, running away. This prompted his neighbors to point and laugh.  
Sirsir bounded up to the cloth and grabbed it, twirling it around. Blue lifted it into the air, the Unggoy suspended underneath it like it was his parachute. He floated around, inches above everyone else’s heads, laughing.  
“I fly!” he yelled. Blue deposited him gently back to the ground, the cloth vanishing. “See? Magic!”  
“I can fly too,” Blue said to the crowd.  
“We see,” one Unggoy replied. “Blue fly and beat Brutes.”  
“Are the Brutes mean to you?” she asked. The surrounding Unggoy nodded.  
“No secret,” one said. “No care for us.”  
“Brutes step on us,” another said. “Kig-Yar poison us. Sangheili yell at us. Yanme’e ignore us. Expendable. Expendable.”  
“Why don’t you do anything about it?” the draconic questioned.  
“They big. We small. Very small.” the Unggoy were very good at keeping their speakers unidentified. “They glass homeworld when we misbehaved. We must obey.”  
“Well, I may be only one person, but I promise I won’t step on, poison, yell at, or ignore any of you,” Blue said sincerely. “I think you deserve better treatment.”  
“Blue make good promise!” Sirsir announced. “Better keep promise.”  
“You bleed blue,” someone piped up. “Like us.”  
Blue started, surprised. She’d never have expected the gathered crowd to have paid any attention to the color of her blood after being attacked by the Jiralhanae.  
“Glows like us too,” Sirsir added. “Glowly blue.”  
“See? We are not that different,” Blue said carefully, rolling with it. She lowered herself to the floor, having a seat. The Unggoy crowded around her.  
“I was once an underling, like you,” she started, “but we all have the potential for greatness within us. Through faith and righteousness, it can be found.”  
“We follow Covenant,” someone said. “They lead to greatness.”  
Blue nodded. “They know a way. I know ways too. The Forerunners knew the ways. It is a fascinating thing, this journey.”  
“You know ways?” that aroused some suspicion. “Covenant the only way.”  
Blue held up her hands innocently. “I am not going to challenge your religion, do not worry. I respect it. But I am also a few hundred thousand years older than anyone else in this city.”  
“Wow,” someone gasped. “That’s old.”  
The draconic turned back to the crowd. “Anyways, I heard you guys like to party,” she said with a smile. “Well, I like to party too, and I heard it’s a great way to make friends.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_I can’t believe you’re partying your way to taking down this establishment,_ BTS muttered over telepathy.  
_If it works, it works,_ Blue defended. _The Unggoy value camaraderie and social nature. They also have many insecurities, thanks to being the lowest class of the Covenant. They also like to talk a lot. It makes them easy to get to know._  
_It seems too easy,_ Aethon cautioned. _If you’re so active with the low-class groups, somebody’s going to notice._  
_The Prophets are definitely watching me,_ the draconic admitted. _And I can’t shake the watchers without creating suspicion, at least not easily._  
_Are you sure there’s nothing we can help you with?_ The tiger asked. _I’m getting bored, doing nothing but hiding in here._  
_Sorry, BTS, but they can’t know about you or Aethon yet,_ Blue apologized. _They already know more about me than I’d like._  
_Are you keeping your story straight?_ BTS asked.  
The draconic grimaced. _For now. But it’s not easy._  
_You can do it!_ Aethon cheered her on. _We’ll always be here for you, if you need us too._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The Kig-Yar from the Fearless Wander showed her where the others of their kind lived, and she took up position in a common walkway to gather a crowd with an entertainment of tricks and riddles. She had more of the gleaming stones prepared as prizes. The aliens loved an honest competition, mostly because they loved to gloat over each other when they won. The males were especially voracious among each other, seeking all possible methods of impressing the established matriarchs or lesser females.  
The Kig-Yar of the Fearless Wander, most likely at ‘Ayanamee’s command, were attentive to Blue whenever she was nearby, and defended her if one of their comrades leveled an insult, heard by her or not. She knew most were only acting upon the Shipmaster’s orders, but maybe, she could hope she was slowly earning their trust as well.  
To gather more support, she needed to get the matriarchs on her side, and the way to their hearts seemed to be through flattery.  
Her strategy came to be what BTS had dubbed “no-one-_____s-like-Gaston”-ing, where she’d praise various characteristics of the matriarchs (not when the others were around, however) and present them with gifts. Aethon’s fabricator was working non-stop between producing the trinkets, rations, and shielding devices. The Kig-Yar loved novel objects; they had value for their unfamiliar nature.  
Chur’R-Kel, the shipmistress of the DAV-class light corvette Silent Overwatch that accompanied Fearless Wander, was gathered into her fold with relative swiftness. She knew to target her in order to gain the respects of her near-to all Kig-Yar crew as well. Chur’R-Kel had a particular love for word puzzles, and seemed overjoyed when Blue presented her with a handmade book of the things. It had taken her many hours to figure out how to adapt Covenant script to puzzle forms, but she believed her hard work had paid off.  
She visited the Unggoy and Kig-Yar as often as she could, making sure the time she spent with them was around equal. While the environment of High Charity did not seem to run off of 24-hour cycles (she hadn’t expected it to), she kept track of the “days” that passed, never forgetting what the date was.  
Her success with the Unggoy continued to rise, though with the Kig-Yar she seemed to be unfortunately plateauing. Either way, there were more Unggoy than Kig-Yar aboard High Charity, and she had faith than whatever she could get, she could work with.  
Her success with the Unggoy was likely bolstered by the fact they became much friendlier when they were high off of the infusions, seemingly benzene-based, they used as recreational drugs. They also became a lot looser with their words, so she had to be careful with what she told them. She’d gotten so friendly with some of the little guys that they had started offering her infusions as well. It was somewhere under the pretext that if this big, silver creature could breathe the same air they did, bleed the same color they did, then she must also enjoy their drugs. She obliged them, even though she couldn’t actually get high. They enjoyed her presence, either way.  
She could tell she was still being tailed, despite all the days that passed without incident. She began to use supercloaking whenever she visited the methane fields or Kig-Yar barracks, so whoever was spying on her wouldn’t know of her repeated visits.  
This resulted in her frequent visits to the numerous mess halls around the station, since consuming food made her recharge her energies faster. Astonished Sangheili and Jiralhanae watched as she downed near to fifty pounds of straight meat in one sitting.  
She looked up, surprised to see everyone staring at her. “What?”  
“She ate a whole thorn beast leg,” one of the Jiralhanae whispered in awe.  
Despite having consumed near to a third of her body weight in meat, she suffered no digestive upsets either, which those in the mess hall had certainly expected to happen.  
_The fantastic upsides of having a 100% efficient digestive system…or rather, no digestive system. Just a big blob of energy that dissolves everything into itself._  
Respect for her was growing. Her performance in the Hierarch’s numerous tests was not remaining secret. It was no secret that she’d defeated the majority of solo contestants she was put up against in hand-to-hand and melee weapon combat, even with her minimal knowledge of Covenant fighting techniques. And every fight made her a better opponent, having to rely less on her evasive skills and more able to attack directly. She found more of a challenge in fighting multiple opponents at once, but her success rate was still respectably high. The trials put unnecessary strain on her energy reserves, however, which she was displeased with. More trips to the mess hall were necessary.  
It was also no secret that she could hit a target near to a mile away with her energy attacks, though her skills with Covenant guns were lacking since she had no training in their use. But once again, she learned very quickly. She was on par with the skills of a Sangheili Minor in only six Earth days.  
If she dared to make a guess, she would believe that the High Prophet of Truth was afraid of her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	10. 1.9: The Heretic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post again yesterday evening but I was playing Breath of the Wild and forgot to watch the time :P so here we are now

1.9  
‘Ayanamee, once again with his fantastic timing, interrupted her meditation session.  
 _Blue?_  
She frowned. _Yes?  
Have you heard about the edict the High Prophet of Truth just put out?  
No, what of it?   
All the commanding Sangheili posted in the Fleets of Profound Solitude, Tranquil Composure, and Inner Knowledge are being replaced._  
Blue sat up straight, eyes widening. _Does this affect you and your ships?  
No. Those fleets are under the Ministry of Resolution. We’re under the Ministry of Fervent Intercession. They wouldn’t dare replace us; the Zealots would riot.  
Ok. This is all part of their sinister plan, for sure._ Blue rubbed her temples. _I’ve yet to find a Jiralhanae who knows and whose presence isn’t going to be missed.  
Tartarus knows, no doubt.  
Yeah, he knows, but if I kidnap him, people are going to notice he’s missing. I need someone more...random. Some of your crew knew, but I haven’t been able to find them.  
You’ll find someone eventually. I could call my crew back._  
She shook her head. _That’s too risky. They’ll be suspicious.  
Have you looked in the Prophets’ minds?  
Yes. Truth’s, but briefly. He’s the ringleader for this.   
Tell me what he knows. Now! _  
Blue sighed, knowing the Shipmaster would throw a fit if she didn’t talk to him. _The High Prophet of Truth wants to replace the Sangheili with Jiralhanae because the Jiralhanae are better at blindly following his orders. He’s planning to massacre the Sangheili._  
 _WHAT?_ Blue could tell that ‘Ayanamee had yelled out loud, and quite angrily, though she couldn’t blame him.  
 _Hush! This needs to be kept quiet! I don’t want them finding out that I told anyone, because it might make them start sooner, before I have enough support in place. We’re going to need to have this planned out very well if we want to survive this._  
 _The slimey, worm-sucking, backstabbing Brute bastards…_ ’Ayanamee was going on a thankfully quiet rant against the Jiralhanae. _I’ll strangle them all with my bare hands._  
 _No you won’t,_ Blue replied. _Think rationally, Shipmaster. They have the element of surprise, but if we can carefully, quietly spread the message, they will lose that, and we will turn the tide against them._  
 _What do you plan to do?_  
Blue looked up at the ceiling. _I plan to undermine this entire thing from the inside out._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Hello Ree, Yim, Wick,” Blue greeted the three Kig-Yar that went scurrying past her as she walked into the Kig-Yar residential area.  
“Hello, Blue,” the three chorused back, before vanishing around a corner.  
She made her usual rounds of greeting and praising the matriarchs (“oh, you do look so very lovely today”, “my, how glad I am to see you today”, “I heard of the great promotion you got yesterday, how wonderful”). But, her real target was Chur’R-Kel and her loyals.  
They were in their usual area, Chur’R-Kel lording it over her underlings from atop the makeshift throne she’d constructed from random furniture. While she was nowhere near the standing of one of the resident matriarchs, she was still permitted to display herself as a lofty individual, just as long as her throne didn’t pass those of the matriarchs in size.  
“Shipmistress Chur’R-Kel,” Blue greeted her with a respectful bow of her head. “Are you enjoying my humble gift?”  
“Very much,” Chur’R-Kel replied. “It is one of my most treasured possessions.” she paused to rub a bit of dust from one of the shiny stones she wore on a necklace.  
“I have a humble favor to ask of your brood,” Blue said, reaching to her utility belt and drawing out a stack of papers. “I have here, in my hands, a great many poems, expressing one’s humble duty to this Covenant. I would like to borrow a bit of your people’s time to deliver them around the city.”  
Chur’R-Kel’s eyes glowed with understanding. While she may not have known of the impending genocide, she was quite aware of the Hierarch’s lies about the Halos, and could guess well enough what the ‘poems’ were about.  
However, the poems were to be delivered only to the Sangheili residents of the lower districts. Blue would be using her supercloak to spread the message throughout the Tower districts in tandem.  
The papers themselves did have a poem on them - a cheesy love poem by an unknown author. But energetics was a tricky art; anything with energy, and therefore mass, could be manipulated. The energy held within the papers could be programmed like a computer, under the hand of a skilled-enough creature.  
The energy would change the words around if the paper was touched by anyone with Sangheili genetics. It would then read, “Speak not of this to anyone, but your kind has fallen out of favor, and something terrible is stirring. Watch for more of my words to come” and then the paper would dissolve into dust, destroying the evidence. If the papers were touched by anyone besides a Sangheili after they were delivered, they would permanently display the poetry. The energetic programming would vanish.  
“And why should I be willing to help you?” Chur’R-Kel asked, obviously looking for more gifts.  
Blue raised her voice. “Anyone who is willing to aid me in my humble activities will be rewarded with such a prize as this.” She held up on of her own teeth, the light reflecting beautifully off it (‘you’re literally pulling out your own teeth over this’, BTS had complained). The Kig-Yar around her, including Chur’R-Kel, leaned forwards in awe.  
“And to you, Shipmistress,” the draconic continued, “I will give you this.” she held up one of the shielding devices, gorgeously polished to a shine and carved with a flowing design. Chur’R-Kel regarding it greedily.  
“Does Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee know of your business?” she then asked in undertone. Blue nodded.  
“We would be glad to help you,” the Shipmistress then declared. Her underlings swarmed up to Blue, ready to receive the papers.  
“On top of each one is the section to which these will be delivered,” Blue explained. “On return, having successfully distributed the poems, you will be rewarded. Be aware, for if you do not fulfill this task correctly, I will know, and no reward you will get.”  
She handed one stack of papers to each eager Kig-Yar. Once they were all off, she sat down and began counting her loose teeth, to make sure she’d have enough for everyone when they got back. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to pull any more. Growing them back was annoying at best.  
Chur’R-Kel was busy affixing the shielding device to her armor in whatever way she deemed most fashionable. “I can speak with you now, can I not?”  
Blue nodded. “You can speak with me now.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“To the Covenant!” Blue toasted from the table she was standing on.   
“Here, here!” the Unggoy around her replied, jumping on and off the tables, cheering. Most were very high off of infusions at the moment.  
Blue sat down on the table, many of the Unggoy climbing up to join her. Sirsir himself stumbled right up to her and sat on her tail.  
“Oi!” she said, pushing him off. “Watch the tail, bro!”  
“Sorry,” he said, chuckling absentmindedly. He started snoring almost immediately.  
“I fear for our great society,” Blue said to those gathered around her. “We cannot be our best when we are riddled with internal strife such as this.”  
Over the past few days, she’d learned that a good portion of the Unggoy were upset about the replacement of commanding Sangheili with Jiralhanae. They were especially upset about the second part of the edict, which had released and pardoned all Jiralhanae prisoners and criminals, many of which were known to be cruel to the Unggoy. Though they’d really only admit it when high, the Unggoy preferred the Sangheili to the Jiralhanae.  
“Sangheili yell at us,” one had explained, “Jiralhanae step on us.”  
“We apart, humans beat us,” someone dramatically proclaimed.  
Blue nodded, but wanted to keep their conversation away from the humans. “Well, I am not worried about the humans as much as I am the Flood, our greatest common enemy. If we cannot stand against it together, we will surely fall apart.”  
The surrounding Unggoy all keened mournfully, drama increased tenfold by the effects of the infusions. Many of them started to outright cry, huddling in little groups.  
Blue started humming, not in the musical sense, but a very low-pitched sound, the kind that made humans see ghosts. There was something strangely calming to the noise, which couldn’t quite be heard by the Unggoy, whose hearing was geared towards higher pitches, like their own voices. They slowly stopped their rioting, blinking and looking back to Blue.  
“We must stand together,” she repeated, “or fall apart.” She held out her hands. The Unggoy nearest to her reached up and grabbed onto her fingers. They held their hands out to their neighbors, who repeated the same, spreading throughout the crowd, beyond Blue’s sight.  
“You may be small, but together you are unstoppable,” she said. “I know it to be fact. You are smart, cunning, creative, and funny, and each of you brings something unique into every room you enter. That is why you are so strong together.” She let her gaze wander over the group. “I only ask for one thing; for you to be kind to one another, as I am kind to you. Show respect, and respect you may receive, and if you don’t, you just keep on showing it until those who oppose you give in.” Her eyes turned serious. “And those who seek to divide us, to characterize us as who we were born as, not who we have become, are sadly mistaken. We must not let those kinds of people control us. We must make it our moral duty to take those trapped within the darkness of discrimination, and educate them so they will be brought into the light of the new day. And if they cannot be taught, then we must part ways with them, for they will be a danger to the harmony of our lives.”  
“Here, here!” the Unggoy shouted, and the uproar was thunderous.  
 _But they’re all drunk,_ BTS complained in her head. _They don’t really mean it._  
Blue watched over the crowd. _Perhaps. But maybe soon, they will._  
 _You can’t be so sure. Something’s going to happen._  
 _Yes, I know we’re running a risk here, but Wukong never said this would be easy!_  
 _What does that stuffy Gehirnian know,_ the tiger grumbled.  
 _He knows enough. He does his part, we do ours. Isn’t that how it works?_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue was relaxing among the Unggoy, having just returned from another successful round of delivering secret poem-messages to the Sangheili residents. This second message had been short, but simple, “Once again, speak nothing of this, but the edict speaks the Prophet’s purpose loud and clear”.   
In the wake of the reception of her messages, she had cast her mind over the city, monitoring the reactions of those who read the words. Many people seemed apt to disregard the messages as folly, but the edict that had gone out just before the arrival of the first message kept nagging in their minds. It was no secret that the Jiralhanae were quite disliked, and this overtaking of important command positions by the Brutes was inflammatory on its own. And now, a mysterious entity was telling them it was part of a greater, darker scheme the Prophets themselves were involved in.  
Once she had hard evidence of the incoming genocide, she would spread that like wildfire, and they would know the truth. And then, she would reveal to them her plans (currently in planning) for how they would turn the tide against the Jiralhanae.  
“Blue! Blue!” Sirsir was yanking her arm, breaking her from her trance. “Blue! We go now!”  
“Go where?” Blue shook her head, chasing the tangle of thoughts from her mind. “What? What is it?”  
“They punish a heretic!” Sirsir yelled excitedly. “Her-e-tic! Her-e-tic!”  
“What are you blabbering on about?” the draconic demanded, standing. Her mind was turning nervously. “Who? Who is a heretic?” Had they caught one of her followers?  
“Not-anymore Supreme Commander Thel ‘Vadamee!” Sirsir exclaimed. “Failure! Failure!” he grabbed Blue’s finger and pulled some more. Initially, she felt relief to hear a name not associated with her, but a fearful tick continued to nag at her. It made her feel twitchy.  
“Come! Come!” more Unggoy had gathered excitedly around her. “Punish the heretic!”  
“Oh,” Blue figured out what was going on and withdrew her hands. “I despise public punishments,” she muttered, drawing her head back angrily. “Terrible creatures, using such things to inspire fear and hatred amongst their people.”  
“Huh?” Sirsir looked confused. “But it fun!”  
The draconic shook her head. “It is not fun, my dear Sirsir. You would not call it fun yourself if you were the one being punished in front of everyone else.”  
“Oh,” Sirsir looked down. “You right. No fun for heretic. But fun for us!”  
The draconic grimaced and put a hand over her face. “It is a matter of empathy, my dear,” she said, looking away, knowing at this moment in time there would be no swaying the Unggoy’s stance, not when the whole hoard was running around, shouting like they were going to an amusement park. “But I guess it would be rude of me to not attend, if I am to be a humble servant of the Covenant's wishes.”  
“See! Fun!” Sirsir yelled, grabbing her fingers again. She let herself be pulled along, though reservedly. She didn’t want to go, but her absence would be noticed. She didn’t know what would happen. She doubted it would be favorable.  
 _I do sometimes get the feeling that I’ve gotten myself swamped into a looney bin…_  
Sirsir would not let go of her damn finger, and despite his smaller size, he sure could pull. She let him lead her, along with the swarm of other Unggoy that liked to follow her around. They seemed to know where to go.  
They dragged her up to one of the towers, to a construction she recognized to be the same sort of bleacher-like design as where she’d held her trial by combat, except there was no arena here; attention seemed to focus on the opening in the side of the tower. They seemed to be a bit late to the party; the only place they could get seats was near the bottom. They crowded in together, the Unggoy standing on the benches so they could see better. Even with that, the view was pretty terrible.  
Blue unhappily sat down next to Sirsir, who was jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store. The metal plates along her neck and back rose like the hackles on a cat with some instinctive discomfort. She forced the plates down, in case one of the overexcited Unggoy fell on her. She wouldn’t want to accidentally shred someone to pieces with the sharp edges, nor did she want them to see her so uncomfortable.  
There was movement on the ledge above, and the crowd reacted excitedly. A Sangheili in gold armor - that had to be Thel ‘Vadamee - appeared above, accompanied by Tartarus and two other Jiralhanae. Blue’s neck plates rose up again, this time with anger. She shook her head and forced them down again. When she had seen the gold color, for just a brief moment, she had imagined that it was ‘Ayanamee up there.  
“He-re-tic! He-re-tic!” the Unggoy were chanting. Sirsir excitedly joined in, stomping on the bleachers.  
‘Vadamee’s wrists were secured by the Jiralhanae to some sort of energy-based cuffs that were floating in the air. Tartarus picked up a long rod, branded end glowing brightly. The pitch of the crowd increased. She looked away.  
Her hands were together, hidden by the shadow her bowed head cast.   
Sirsir, amidst his stomping, noticed her lowered head. He frowned at her, and looked at how she held her hands tightly together.  
“Oh,” he whispered beneath the roaring of the crowd. “Empathy.” He got off the bleachers and stood right next to her, looking at her face. “I-I think I get it now.” He touched one of her hands and the runic rings around her wrist lit up faintly, flickering. His eyes got a big bigger, and sad.  
Blue nodded slightly, eyes squeezed shut. “Empathy.” ‘Vadamee screamed, and she seemed to shrink even more, like the air around her was trying to crush her.  
Reaching out, Sirsir touched the black lines that extended down from her eyes, and caught a single tear on his stubby claw. He didn’t seem to hear all the people chanting around him anymore.  
 _This wasn’t supposed to be this real...but then why do I feel like this?_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	11. 1.10: Raid on the Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little longer, again. I like the longer chapters - with my writing style I like to have more room to develop events. I can remember writing the first draft of this four years ago, watching someone's Halo 2 playthrough and constantly pausing the video so I could write out the sequence of events properly. These kinds of chapters tended to take so long because of that :P

1.10

“Blue have bad memories?” Sirsir asked quietly. They were sitting in the corner of a mostly-empty building, save for the group of Unggoy around them.  
“Bad enough,” she replied. “I’ve been hurt and I’ve seen other people get hurt too. Physically and emotionally.”  
Her backstory, her own imprisonment, it was a lie, of course. She had never suffered through anything like it. But, somehow, she could imagine it just as strongly.  
Sirsir put his little hand on hers. “I-I sorry I made you go.”  
Blue shook her head. “You didn’t know. Thank you for apologizing.” She looked up at him. “I hope you remember this.”  
“Yes, yes,” the Unggoy said quickly, eyes big. “We thought you’d have fun. But your heart is too big.” He put one of his stubby hands on her chest. “Big heart, too big to watch other people get hurt. Even if they deserve it.”  
The draconic smiled faintly. She gently took his hand and removed it from her chest. “I have important business to attend to, so I must be going.” She stood, fixing the surrounding Unggoy with a stern look. “Remember what I said about kindness. Even with the infusions, I mean every word I say with all my heart.”  
She left the methane fields under supercloak, moving towards the docks. _Aethon, be prepared. Once I arrive, we must make for the gas mine at once. The Prophets are setting plans in motion and time is short._  
She jumped into the air, wings extending from her back. Invisible, soundless, she left the city behind her and made way to the Fearless Wander.  
_‘Refumee,_ she called, consciousness extending far out into space to find the rebels on Threshold. _It is time to leave. The Prophets are making a move on Threshold.  
Is it now?_ He seemed a bit annoyed. _You have not been keeping me updated on your progress. I feel very left in the dark.  
I’m sorry, but I had very little time,_ Blue apologized. _The High Prophet of Truth has been sending people to tail me, and keeps me busy with random, menial things and ‘tests’. He does not want me gaining power here.  
Of course not. He wants to rule it all by himself. He is the only one who will ascend to godhood here.  
Former Supreme Commander Thel ‘Vadamee has been disgraced and appointed as the next Arbiter, _Blue told him. _His first task is to assassinate you and take down your crew.  
An Arbiter? What an honor. _‘Refumee actually seemed pleased.  
_Have your people ready to evacuate onto my ship,_ Blue ordered. _Our time will be very limited. I wish I found out about this earlier, but Truth’s mind is hard to keep watch on, when there’s so much else going on as well.  
We will be ready. Do you have enough space on your ship?  
Well, how many do you have?  
Well, we’ve lost a few, but still over three hundred._  
Blue frowned. Aethon could fit two hundred comfortably - three hundred would be a squeeze, but doable. _We’ll fit._  
She reached the path leading to the Fearless Wander. Lucky for her, some of ‘Ayanamee’s inferior officers were aboard the ship, and let her on, so she didn’t have to trick her way through the door (she’d done it multiple times already, to get to Aethon’s fabricator, but she preferred that her sneaking around remained at a minimal level).  
“I’m taking Aethon and going to evacuate the people trapped on the gas mine,” she told one of ‘Ayanamee’s trusted officers. “I’ll be back soon, so have someone here to let me in.”  
“How will you get back?” the Sangheili asked. “The clearance codes will have changed by then.”  
“Under supercloak, I cannot be seen on any photonic spectrum, nor can I be heard, not that that matters in space,” she replied. “I also cannot be detected by movement, and the slipspace probes will not sense me.” She gave a mysterious grin. “I do not travel in slipspace when I want to get places quickly.”  
Leaving the officer a bit baffled, she swiftly made her way to Aethon’s location. He dropped the bay door for her, and she ran up it, the ship already up and moving on his own before she was even in the cabin.  
“Supercloak online and fully functional,” he said as she climbed up the ladder. “Hyperdrives ready to jump.”  
“If anything moves to fire at us, you jump,” she ordered. “I doubt we’ll be sensed, but be ready, just in case.”  
BTS’s sleek head popped up from behind the massive mound of shielding devices he’d made while she was on High Charity.  
“Great job there, BTS,” she praised him. “Thanks for all the trinkets and papers, too.”  
“No problem,” he replied, pointing at her. “Anything to keep your teeth in your damn skull.”  
“We’re clear to make the jump,” Aethon said. “Nothing looking to fire at us.”  
Blue crossed her arms. “Jump away.” The stars around them blurred into streaks, the physical realm around them seeming to stretch, and they jumped. Not a single sensor aboard the floating city so much as batted an eye.  
They dropped out of hyperspace above the gas mine; in the distance, Blue could see a vicious storm brewing among the orange clouds.  
“This is Blue aboard Aethon, calling for Sesa ‘Refumee’s faction,” she patched herself into the mine’s intercom. “Covenant forces are en route to clear you from this place, a task they will succeed at. I will be parking Aethon by the posterior hangar; meet me there.”  
The white ship uncloaked and zoomed into the hangar once it was opened. The crowd of not-actually-heretics gathered around as she descended from the ship.  
“One note before you board,” she cautioned. “My ship’s name is Aethon. He is fully capable of acting on his own, including controlling all flight and weapons mechanics, so I ask that you treat him politely. Onboard is also another of my friends, housed in a mechanical body - his name is BTS. He will be distributing a shielding device, similar to the few I gave you before, to each one of you.”  
“AI?” someone asked dubiously.  
“Think of them as people’s minds in mechanical bodies, if the idea of artificial intelligence doesn’t settle with you well. They are like the Holy Oracle,” the draconic replied, thinking on the spot. “I have known these two for nearly my whole life, and they can be trusted.”  
‘Refumee strode through the crowd, Guilty Spark floating after him. Blue greeted him with a nod.  
“Arbiter Thel ‘Vadamee is coming for you,” she told him, as the rest of the group boarded Aethon behind them. “When he does, I ask that you do not fire upon him. Let the Oracle speak, and if we are lucky, the Arbiter will listen and learn.”  
“I am trusting my life to you, all on the faint hope that together we can stop this madness the Prophets preach,” ‘Refumee replied. “If you fail, my crew will not follow you.”  
“I will not fail,” Blue assured him. “The shielding device you carry will protect you. If ‘Vadamee fires upon you, even if he wears your energy shields down, the device will continue to protect you. And he won’t know of this. If he fires upon you, in killing you he will succeed. Or at least that’s what we’ll make him think.”  
“What do you propose?” ‘Refumee asked, crossing his arms. “You must be a master of illusion, then, if you mean to trick such an intelligence as Thel ‘Vadamee.”  
Blue touched her finger to the corner of the eye. “The mind sees what it wants to see.” She upturned her other hand, a faint hologram of the mine appearing. “The Arbiter must speak with you alone, so we must force the rest of his allies to disembark.”  
‘Refumee squinted at the map. “I know of some inner chambers of this mine that are highly reinforced, and inaccessible when locked.”  
Blue nodded. “I could create an illusion that you and your crew have fled to these zones, but with depleted numbers, so ‘Vadamee will have no issue pursuing you himself.”  
‘Refumee pointed at the top of the hologram. “When I say inaccessible, I mean it. In order to flush us from these impassible chambers, the Arbiter would have no choice but to severe the support cables connecting this mine to the orbital structure.” He pointed out the cable on the hologram, designed to be easily cut in the case of a Flood outbreak. “Our only choice will be to fall and die, or flee for the Seraph fighter in one of the hangars.”  
“With the cables cut, how long will we have until the mine becomes inhospitable?” Blue asked. “And how can you be so certain he will do this?”  
The Sangheili nodded understandingly. “Flushing us out will be the only way to get to me, and his honor hinges upon this. Judging by my calculations, it will take a long time for the mine to fall, easily enough to get this done. We should be able to make our way to the hangar without much issue.”  
Blue nodded shortly. “Engage ‘Vadamee, see if you can get him to listen, but if not, fight him. Fight him with all your strength; he must not suspect a thing. Just, you know, don’t kill him.”  
She could’ve been seeing things, but she swore ‘Refumee rolled his eyes.  
“Anyways,” she continued, “If he takes down your shields, let yourself get hit, near the door to the outside. When he means to finish you off, jump through the door.”  
“Jump through the door?” ‘Refumee repeated. “What, are you going to catch me?”  
“Aethon will,” Blue replied. “He’ll be below the hangar door, hidden within the clouds, emitting a stasis field. I’ll be around too, so just in case something goes wrong, I can catch you too.”  
“You don’t seem like you could carry much more than a Grunt” ‘Refumee snorted. “Especially in the tempest of a storm that will be around the mine soon.”  
Blue narrowed her eyes. Her wings shot up, metal extensions sliding out, fingers spreading wide. Her wing-arms and fingers clicked into their third setting, black membranes crackling. At this, her largest setting, her wingspan was 21 feet.  
‘Refumee took a step back, staring up at the massive black wings. “Never mind what I said. You’ll be fine.”  
Blue crossed her arms and retracted her wings. “I have rocket thrusters in my back as well. You’re in good hands, Sesa ‘Refumee. I cannot afford to lose you; if I do, I lose three hundred strong, capable fighters that will be key in stopping the Prophets.” She lifted her head, staring off into the distance, squinting. “You must go. They are here.”  
With that, she vanished, supercloaking herself. Aethon was already gone, sneaking his way to the hangar, to wait for ‘Refumee if he fell.  
_I will stay near,_ Blue said to the Sangheili. Eerie screeches echoed up the hallway. _Don’t mind those. Throwing sound is all too easy to do._  
She cast her mind over the mine; the Special Operations force was hacking through one of the exterior doors. The Sentinels aboard the mine were gearing up to fight them; Blue would let them go. A bit of a distraction wouldn’t hurt. She monitored the SpecOps as they descended into a hangar, quarreling with the Sentinels.  
_There are Banshees, on the landing pad near here,_ she said to ‘Refumee. _Let’s get them a glimpse of you, so they may take the bait._  
‘Refumee nodded. _Follow me._  
They walked onto the landing pad. Through a window, she spotted the glint of silver armor.  
_We’ve been spotted! Take a Banshee and flee!_  
‘Refumee jumped aboard the Banshee and sped off; Blue spread her wings and pursued him, easily keeping up, even without the use of her thrusters.  
_The Arbiter means to pursue us; you know the best way to get to the inner chambers from here.  
They are tracking my position, no doubt. They will come to me without issue._  
‘Refumee landed on a platform, the doors opening. He dismounted the Banshee and ran through, Blue following him.  
They ran through a dimly-lit room; Blue recognized their position as near to or within the Flood facilities. She waved her hand and cast an illusion through the transparent floor; shadowy outlines of heretics fighting the Flood, and losing. Something nice to hopefully boost the Arbiter’s confidence.  
They entered a large elevator, went down, ran through another hallway, and into a large chamber. Blue cast more of the strange shrieking noises behind them.  
“The incoming storm will be pressing them for time,” ‘Refumee said out loud. “I say we wait for them to catch up to me here, before I enter through this shielded door. Otherwise, they may lose me.”  
They’d made it to the inner facilities, where the SpecOps wouldn’t be able to break through, in time to avoid the storm.  
_They will be here soon,_ Blue replied. _Without anyone to fight, they’ll move much quicker._  
As if called, the SpecOps forced their way into the chamber. ‘Refumee dove through the door, Blue slipping after him, and the door slammed shut.  
They could hear the Arbiter angrily pounding on the other side of the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The sound faded after a moment.  
He has gone to cut the cable, like you said. Blue was monitoring his movements, mine cast over the facility. He has sent the rest of the forces back to the ships.  
“Perfect,” ‘Refumee muttered.  
It was not long; when the first cable was cut, the station shuddered; the second, it shuddered again, and then the third. The horrible sound of tearing metal echoed through the facility, and it entered into free-fall. Blue and ‘Refumee both stumbled, feet skidding on the ground for a bit. Blue activated her armor’s magnetism in her feet and stuck to the floor. ‘Refumee got his own footing back, looking around the room.  
"Move; to the hangar," ‘Refumee ordered. "I’ll take another Banshee there, and give the Arbiter another shot at me."  
Blue followed him diligently, out to where the Banshees were parked. A door behind them slammed open, and the Arbiter busted through, opening fire at them.  
‘Refumee jumped aboard the Banshee and sped off, Blue in pursuit. ‘Vadamee went for another Banshee, making to follow them. They dodged through the orange clouds; ‘Refumee led them to another platform, landing and running inside. Through more tunnels and rooms, they made it to the hangar.  
_That was quite a run we put to them, ‘Refumee,_ Blue said. _Guilty Spark is in position as well. She cocked her head. I feel strange just calling you by your name. Do you have a title? You never introduced yourself with one, and I would like to afford you the proper respect you deserve._  
“‘Refumee is just fine,” he replied. “After seeing the lies the Prophets have reigned upon us, it feels improper to continue to heed the call of their titles.”  
The draconic nodded and turned away, walking to the edge of the hangar. She opened the door. _Good luck._ She spread her wings and backed away from the platform, skittering sideways to counter the pushing effects of the roaring wind.  
Her wings decreased in size, the wind so ferocious she would risk being thrown into the vortex if she tried to fly at her normal span. She saw ‘Refumee jump aboard the Seraph, as if about to enter it, and the Arbiter busted into the room.  
“Turn, heretic,” she heard him growl.  
‘Refumee turned to face him. “Arbiter. I would rather die by your hands than let the Prophets lead me to slaughter.”  
“Who taught you these lies?’ ‘Vadamee demanded.  
‘Refumee pointed upwards. Absentmindedly humming, Guilty Spark descended from above.  
‘Vadamee looked shocked. “The Oracle!”  
“Hello!” Spark said cheerfully. “I am 343 Guilty Spark. I am the Monitor of Installation 04.”  
“Be as so kind as to tell this Arbiter about Halo,” ‘Refumee said to Spark. “He will see how the Prophets will sacrifice us all for nothing?”  
“More questions? Splendid! I would be happy to assist you,” Spark said. “What would you like to know?”  
‘Vadamee was still staring at Spark. Blue grabbed her horns, pulling on them nervously. _Just ask a question, damnit, just one damn question…_  
‘Vadamee looked away from Spark. “I have no time for this,” he growled, and open fired on ‘Refumee.  
“Oh dear,” Spark said. “I guess you don’t want to know anything…”  
‘Refumee vaulted out of the line of fire, withdrawing two holodrones.  
“The Elites are blind, Arbiter,” he called, “but I will make them see.” He threw the holodrones in ‘Vadamee’s direction; they hit the ground and transformed into two identical copies of himself.  
Blue shook her head angrily. _Damn you for not wanting to listen!_  
The fierce battle waged between the two was not destined to last long; either one would die, or they both would when the mine entered Threshold’s lower atmosphere. Blue didn’t want it to get to that; she could try to rescue the both of them plus Spark if it came to that, but her chances were slim. Even Aethon’s powerful shields had a limit in the crush depths of the gas giant.  
_Aethon,_ she called. _How is everyone onboard?  
Doing quite well,_ he replied. _They were a little weirded out by BTS and I at first, but I think they’ve gotten used to us. Telling them we’re like Guilty Spark was a good call; it’s something familiar to them.  
Everyone’s gotten a shielding device,_ BTS chimed in. _I gave the one called Loka ‘Bandolee a transmitter as well. He acts as ‘Refumee’s second-in-command, so I thought it smart to do so.  
I agree, _Blue replied. _Good thinking, BTS._  
‘Refumee was taunting ‘Vadamee from within the air vents; his holodrones had been destroyed. Below Blue’s feet, the air shimmered with the stasis field Aethon was emitting.  
_Time is short, ‘Refumee. We near the core, and unfortunately, the Arbiter isn’t going to listen to us._  
‘Refumee dropped from the vents and resumed the battle. He carefully maneuvered himself closer to the open door; heeding Blue’s call, with his shields depleted, he allowed himself to be clipped by a shot, crying out and falling to the ground.  
The shielding device, which he’d fixed to his right shoulder (the devices were so thin they were barely noticeable), activated, glowing faintly around the edges.  
‘Vadamee took aim at the downed Sangheili.  
“Give me the mercy to choose my own death,” ‘Refumee said, voice rasping painfully.  
‘Vadamee paused. “What?”  
‘Refumee lunged, hands and feet pushing against the ground, and catapulted himself out the hangar door. ‘Vadamee jumped after him, getting to the edge just in time to see the heretic leader vanish into the orange clouds.  
Blue dove, following him. She found him floating in Aethon’s stasis field, under his supercloak. She threw a convincing thermal signal beyond the field, so if anyone was still bothering to track them, they’d see ‘Refumee fall into the core of the planet.  
_Can I risk the thought that this...worked?_  
Aethon brought ‘Refumee into the cargo bay. Blue looked up at the mine, which whizzed past them in its continued fall.  
_Maybe the Arbiter will talk to Spark now that ‘Refumee is gone..._  
She dove down to the hangar. Spark was floating next to ‘Vadamee; both were looking towards where ‘Refumee had jumped from the edge.  
“It is unfortunate,” Spark was saying of ‘Refumee. “His edification was most enjoyable.”  
“I had no choice, Holy Oracle,” ‘Vadamee replied. “This Heretic imperiled the Great Journey.” He narrowed his yellow eyes. “Though it is strange, I recall him saying he would rather die by my hands than let the Prophets lead him to slaughter, and then he chose to defy those both and seek death in the liquid core below.”  
“Well, I do believe I know the reasoning behind that - oooooh myyyyyyyyyyy!”  
Blue had to dodge out of the way of the Phantom that pulled up to the hangar, so intent on the conversation (and making sure Spark didn’t accidentally give them away) that she almost didn’t notice it. Tartarus leapt from the ship, and Spark’s words were cut off as the Chieftain pulled the Oracle towards himself using his gravity hammer.  
_Spark!_ Blue lifted her wings to intercept him, but Aethon’s call stopped her.  
_Do not, Blue!_ He cried. _If you interfere, we will be discovered, and all will be lost._  
Blue backwinged, shaking her head in distress. Seeing the little Oracle in the uncaring hand of Tartarus struck some sorrowful chord within her. The Arbiter also seemed upset by the Chieftain’s uncouth handling of the perceived sacred object, but made no further objection after his initial outcry, and boarded the Phantom.  
Blue watched them go, plating on her neck pinned flat in distress. She felt Aethon’s presence near as the ship moved from his position.  
_Come, Blue, we must get going,_ he said.  
_They have Spark!_ She replied with a mental cry. _All they will have to do is ask the right questions, and we will be discovered! Damn this!_  
We must trust that he will not disclose us, Aethon reassured her. _They will want information on how to activate Halo from him; let us hope once they get that they will leave him be. And that he’ll hold his tongue...oh dear, he does like to talk a lot. We may be in a bit of trouble._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	12. 1.11: The Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL I SKIPPED THIS ONE BY ACCIDENT SORRY good thing I caught that mistake almost immediately :P

1.11

Blue sat in Aethon’s cabin, curled up in her chair, for the ride back to High Charity. All she could think about was Guilty Spark, trapped in the hand of Tartarus, and now the Prophets. For all she knew, they would return to High Charity only to be arrested, or worse, shot from the sky.  
Aethon was now teeming with passengers, and the space arrangement wasn’t actually that bad. Aethon could fit two hundred humans comfortably, with enough room to lay down without touching anyone else, and have walkable aisles between each row of them, in the cargo bay. While some of her passengers were bigger than humans, the majority were smaller, and nobody had much interest in laying down. They were milling around nervously, knowing the delicacy of their situation. Had it not been for the draconic and her crew, many of them would have been wiped out by the Arbiter. And the rest would have been crushed in the depths of Threshold.  
Aethon’s holographic display blipped. A small hologram of Ambassador Wukong appeared.  
“You say this is urgent?” the Gerhirnian asked, adjusting his round-rimmed glasses.  
“I may be compromised,” the draconic muttered, hand over her face. “One of the Prophet’s higher-ups captured the little Forerunner construct, Guilty Spark. He knows that I was working with ‘Refumee, and that I’m trying to overthrow the Prophets because I know the truth about the Halos. He...he might talk. I don’t know.”  
“Keep a level head about you,” Wukong ordered, crossing his arms over his small body. “You may not have been discovered yet. The Prophets took Spark for his information on the Forerunners, not for his information on you. They might not even ask.”  
“He’s pretty talkative,” she grumbled doubtfully.  
“Then you must move your plan forward with haste,” Wukong told her sternly. “Before they can catch up to you.”  
“‘Refumee’s coming,” BTS hissed from next to the door to the cabin. “Get Wukong out of here.”  
The hologram nodded in acknowledgement and vanished. A few seconds later, ‘Refumee and ‘Bandolee walked into in the cabin.  
“Buck up, kid,” BTS grumbled. He walked away from the door and the two Sangheili, stopping to paw at Blue, who was still sulking. “We’ve got work to do.”  
“I’m sorry,” the draconic snapped back. “You’d be upset too, if one of your charges got captured.”  
“I’ll say,” ‘Refumee growled. He was standing next to the fabricator, arms crossed and looking positively stormy. “With Spark in their possession, the Prophets will learn how to activate the arrays without issue,” he continued. “The time we have to stop them has now shortened dramatically.”  
“I’m aware,” Blue replied. “I wasn’t thinking that they’d have any interest in capturing Guilty Spark. I wasn’t even aware they knew he was there!”  
“The Prophets will be working to counter our every move,” ‘Refumee told her. “And I’ve got half a mind to believe you’re not prepared to deal with that.”  
Blue didn’t reply, wrapping her fingers around her face, covering her eyes. After a moment, she replied, “Just...let me think.”  
“Blue has been through many trials and tribulations,” Aethon chimed in. “Have faith in her abilities.”  
BTS snorted, “Yeah. We aren’t sunk yet.”  
“Docking successful, by the way,” Aethon alerted them to his safe arrival back in the bay of the Fearless Wander. “We remain undetected.”  
“What wondrous technology indeed,” ‘Bandolee murmured to himself, staring out the windshield at the body of the ship closing around them. Of all the people who’d got to witness Aethon’s hyperspace abilities, he had been most intrigued.  
Blue lifted her head. “Alright, alright. I can’t remain like this.” She put her hands to her desk and pushed herself up. “We must be ready to receive ‘Ayanamee. He’s going to want to meet you guys, seeing that you’re going to be hiding on his ship for a while. Also seeing that you’re technically outcasts and he probably doesn’t trust you.”  
“It is reassuring to know we have this force on our side,” ‘Refumee admitted. “I am glad your meeting with the Oracle convinced them. While we may not have his trust yet, we will earn it. We work for the same goal.”  
Blue shrugged. “They were upset, and a lot of them didn’t want to believe it, but the Oracles do not lie. And, well, according to people I’ve talked to, these ships are where all the ‘strange’ ones go to crew. A think a lot of the crew were probably already deviating.”  
‘Refumee inclined his head. “It is a strategy of the Prophets to keep others from gaining too much power. They send them on long, difficult, or far-away missions with a shoddy crew.”  
“‘Ayanamee is outside,” Aethon told them. “Would you like me to let him in?”  
“We’ll meet him in the cargo bay,” Blue decided. “It might not be smart to expose these hunted people to an unknown group unannounced.”  
She led the group out of the cabin and through Aethon’s interior to the lower deck. They emerged into the cargo bay, the crowd parting to let them through.  
“Stay back,” ‘Refumee told his crew. “We have business with the Shipmaster.”  
Aethon lowered his cargo door, revealing ‘Ayanamee and his bodyguards, plus a small company of trusted Sangheili. ‘The Shipmaster looked slightly surprised by how many people were aboard Aethon, but didn’t comment about it. The refugees eyed him suspiciously.  
Blue raised her hands. “This is Shipmaster Roc ‘Ayanamee of the Fearless Wander, which we are currently docked in. He also knows what you know about the Halos, and is willing to work with us to stop it. Treat him with the respect he deserves.”  
I told him about the genocide too, she said to ‘Refumee. His eyes narrowed slightly.  
“Come to the cabin,” Blue invited them. “We’ll be a little cramped, but it’s more private.”  
She led them out of the cargo bay and back up the hall to the cabin. She walked through the door, followed by ‘Refumee, ‘Bandolee, and the rest of their group. ‘Ayanamee looked up at his Mgalekgolo bodyguards, who were eyeing the way into the cabin doubtfully.  
“You stay here,” he ordered them. “We are among friends; no harm will come to me.” He passed through the door.  
Blue was standing next to BTS as they entered; she might as well give him a formal introduction. ‘Ayanamee noticed the mechanical tiger almost immediately.  
“What monster is this?” he asked, gesturing towards BTS. “Your pet?”  
“This is BTS, my companion,” Blue replied. “He is a fully-independent artificial intelligence that has been working with me for almost my whole life.”  
“Good to meet you,” BTS said, dipping his head.  
“BTS?” ‘Ayanamee asked. “What does it stand for?”  
The tiger made a face, raising an eyebrow. “Uh, nothing.”  
‘Ayanamee looked confused.  
“My ship also houses the consciousness of another friend,” Blue continued. “Aethon, say hello.”  
“Greetings!” Aethon’s voice sounded through the cabin speakers. “I am Aethon, also known as Coreship One. I must express my dearest thanks to you, Shipmaster, for letting me hide in your ship.”  
‘Ayanamee took a step back, staring up at the speakers incredulously. “Your ship is alive?”  
Blue nodded. “More or less.”  
He glared at her. “And you didn’t tell me!”  
She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “I didn’t want it to become common knowledge; I feared many would react negatively if they came across my ship talking and acting on its own. Either way, it wouldn’t have changed a thing.”  
‘Ayanamee crossed his arms. “I’ve got half a mind to mark these two down as stowaways.”  
She actually did roll her eyes at that. “Alright, alright. I probably could’ve told you in private. My bad. But let’s continue. We’ve got enough problems on our hands as is.”  
“Like how my crew is going to react when they find out they’re hauling a living shipful of heretics?” ‘Ayanamee asked. ‘Refumee looked ready to reply angrily, but ‘Ayanamee held a hand up to stop him. “You’re not heretics, let me correct myself. You were telling the truth. But that doesn’t mean everyone is all of a sudden going to like you.”  
“I understand that very well, Shipmaster,” ‘Refumee replied. “I have seen how blind we have become. I did not expect to be accepted with open arms.”  
“‘Refumee’s faction will be remaining aboard Aethon,” Blue told them, “who is going to remain supercloaked, so nobody will find him, or them, here. Once I get proof from one of the Jiralhanae about the genocide, then I’ll start needing your help.”  
“Genocide?” the company of Sangheili that had come with ‘Ayanamee didn’t know; Blue had forgotten. She inhaled, internally reprimanding herself, but knew she had to explain now.  
“The Hierarchs, specifically the High Prophet of Truth, are planning to replace the Sangheili with Jiralhanae as the Covenant’s main warring force,” she explained. “This will ultimately end in a Sangheili genocide, for Truth knows you will not step down easily, and no longer sees a use for you.”  
She was met with a blasted chorus of outright rage, demanding her proofs, her reasons, and immediate response. It took a good two minutes of ‘Ayanamee yelling to get them to settle down. ‘Refumee seemed quite entertained by the hectic scene.  
“I plan on tracking down a Jiralhanae who knows of these plans, and draw them from him,” Blue told them. “It is no easy task, however. Those privy to the knowledge are mostly higher-level officers, and their absence may be missed. And while Truth isn’t aware of my telepathic abilities, and has no reason to believe that I know what is going on, I can tell he’s been watching me. He’s distrustful.”  
“What will you do with that information?” ‘Ayanamee asked. “You have been stockpiling a great set of recordings of the terrible truth. Do you mean to circulate them?”  
Blue nodded. “I’ve already sent a few warnings to the Sangheili on High Charity, disguised as poetry. Either they are ignoring my efforts, or taking heed to stay quiet about it, because I have been monitoring the Sangheili-Jiralhanae interactions on the station, and they are no more belligerent than usual.”  
“The Prophets have captured the Holy Oracle that Blue showed you,” ‘Refumee broke in. “He knows too much and will be a danger to this entire operation if they choose to get curious and ask him about the state of Blue’s affairs. Proof or no proof, we need to act soon.”  
“I am making it my highest priority to obtain the truth!” Blue shot back, not appreciating ‘Refumee’s attempts to further derail her standing. “If I must, I will silence the Oracle, or steal him away. If the Prophets learn of our plans, I will know, and I will stop them myself, to my last drop of life.”  
“We will continue on without you, if necessary,” ‘Ayanamee said, somewhat unexpectedly.  
Blue turned her head, looking at him. “It is reassuring to know your loyalty. Thank you.”  
‘Refumee wasn’t about to be outdone. “We will not give up this fight either. Even if we have blundered into it headlong,” he declared angrily. “Action or no action, we’re just as dead either way.  
“We’re still here too,” BTS grumbled. “We’re not dead yet.”  
Blue dipped her head. “I am humbled to have the support of so many. I will not disappoint you. I will find the truth.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_I think I’ve found a target._  
She told this to both ‘Ayanamee and ‘Refumee. _A select handful of high-ranking Jiralhanae are privy to this information. While they may have been supposed to safeguard this information, I’ve found one guy who told two of his buds. They are incoming to get command positions as Sangheili officers continue to get phased out. But, as of now, they’re low enough in profile that I don’t think they’ll be missed if they vanish for a few hours.  
Work swift, _‘Ayanamee warned her. _We will be ready to receive you aboard the Fearless Wander._  
After choosing her target, Blue spent three days tailing him, learning his schedule and habits. From that, she deduced the best span of time for him to disappear.  
The problem was, these guys were never alone. She’d have to trick whoever he was with at the time, and hope he wouldn’t be missed.  
She’d once heard the philosophy that it was dishonorable to assassinate people in bathrooms, but this was no assassination, and they didn’t call the bathrooms bathrooms. Her target was feeling very tired, and his head hurt. He told his friends he needed to go somewhere quieter for a bit, so maybe his head would hurt less. Needless to say, he never left the not-bathroom.  
Blue hoisted the unconscious Jiralhanae off the ground, grunting with the effort. She threw her supercloak over the both of them and spread her wings, the joints clicking as they extended to their full length. The Jiralhanae was quite heavy.  
She couldn’t fly the whole way back to the Fearless Wander, but it was the safest way to go, so she kept to the air, bands of energy extending between her and the Jiralhanae to help her carry him.  
Below her, one of her Kig-Yar ran by. They were distributing another message.  
_The Prophet’s will be clear; you are not wanted here. Stay vigilant, brothers. I am watching._  
Getting the Jiralhanae back to the Fearless Wander was a hairy task (no pun intended), but her supercloak didn’t let her down, and though the process required much waiting for the coast to be clear, she remained undetected.  
_I’m coming. Be ready to let me in._  
‘Ayanamee had his crew prepared; when she got to the door, a group of Sangheili timed their arrival to match hers. They converged and were admitted to the ship.  
Blue threw the soundproofing layer off her cloak, so her company could hear her. “Where to?”  
“Follow us,” they replied quietly.  
They went down, into the bottom of the ship, where nobody else was. The ship did have a small jail, and they’d turned one of the cells into a makeshift interrogation chamber.  
‘Ayanamee and his usual compatriots were waiting for them.  
“Where’s the Brute?” he demanded.  
Blue fully uncloaked, save for her and the Brute’s heat signature. “Here.”  
“Get him inside,” ‘Ayanamee ordered. “I hope you know what you’re doing. These guys are a tough nut to crack.”  
“I need nothing except my own mind,” the draconic replied evenly. “I regret having to use my abilities in such a barbaric way, but it is necessary to save countless lives.”  
‘Ayanamee crossed his arms. “Sounds like you’re not prepared to be difficult. You better be correct.”  
Blue narrowed her eyes. “My abilities allow me to control the nervous systems of other living creatures. I am prepared to be very difficult.”  
They’d found a chair large enough for the Jiralhanae somewhere (probably stolen from the Jiralhanae on the ship) that Blue dumped her catch onto. The Sangheili proceeded to lock him up as tight as they could.  
“Someone else should be recording, just in case mine malfunctions,” she instructed as she activated her own recording system. One of the Sangheili nodded and withdrew a small camera drone.  
“Wake him up,” ‘Ayanamee ordered.  
Blue cast soundproofing around the room, lest anyone unwanted tried to listen in. She sent a spark of energy into the Jiralhanae’s mind, rousing him from his stupor.  
“Whaaa..?” he woke in a blur, head still hurting. Once he realized what had happened, he began to curse mightily, struggling. His eyes fell on Blue.  
“Foul creature!” he snarled. “Why have you brought me here?”  
“I’d like you to explain to my friends why you’re planning on genociding them,” she replied.  
The Jiralhanae noticed the others. “Foul! Foul traitors! The Prophets will hear of this! Death to you all by terror and flame!”  
“Nobody’s going to die,” Blue said, crossing her arms, “not if I have any say in the matter. You and your Prophets are planning to kill millions of innocent individuals for the sole purpose of one individual maintaining power and control. I know this; I can see it in your mind. I need the solid proof, from you, so I can warn everyone else. It’ll be easiest for everyone if you just tell us.”  
“I will tell you nothing, scum!” he replied. “Do your worst; you will fail.”  
Blue uncrossed her arms. “Are you sure? I am torn to have to use my abilities in such cruel fashion and would rather you just comply.”  
He curled his lips over his teeth. “You are all words, creature. Beneath your frivolous shell you are weak and stupid.”  
“Have it your way, then,” the draconic replied.  
She closed her eyes and entered his mind.  
She found the darkest corners of his mind. Everything he knew and feared. Everything he had forgotten from a childhood past, forgotten fears, renewed and refreshed. She grabbed hold of those things and flooded his mind with their images, aura, overwhelming feelings of fear and hate and darkness. Things trivial became overwhelming, magnified far beyond by her influence on his mind. A childhood bully, suddenly a horrible monster that seemed overwhelmingly real. The death of a dear older brother, relived over and over again in every horrible, gruesome detail. He feared the ocean, the waters dark and endlessly deep, and he was drowning. Vision, hearing, thought, overcome by terror. The darkness never seemed so horrible.  
“What?” he cried, struggling. “No!”  
She shut her ears to his howling, hands raised to her temples, shielding her eyes, squeezed tightly shut. Teeth clenched in concentration, she forced her right eye open so her video recording could actually see, silently berating herself for providing the moment of blackness.  
She did not track the time, but it was mercifully short. Not a finger was laid on the Jiralhanae as he cried, “Make it stop! Make it stop! Make them go away!”  
Blue relaxed, trying to shake the crawling feeling off her skin. “Will you tell us now?”  
The big, ferocious being had been reduced to a sobbing mess by whatever he had seen in his mind. “Yes...Yes...please, no more.”  
“Do not lie,” the draconic warned. “I can tell if you’re lying, and I’ll bring them back.”  
The Jiralhanae shook his head. “No, please. I’ll tell.”  
She nodded. “Speak.”  
“The High Prophets wish to replace the Sangheili with Jiralhanae,” he told her, drooping. “Your inferior race will interfere with the Great Journey.” Despite his situation, he still couldn’t help but be belligerent. “You shall be wiped from this world like the filth you are!” He aimed this insult almost directly at ‘Ayanamee, who snorted and rolled his amber eyes.  
“Everything you know,” Blue repeated dangerously. That quelled his tirade.  
“The Sangheili Councilors have not taken nicely to the replacements within the Fleets of Profound Solitude, Tranquil Composure, and Inner Knowledge,” he said. “They won’t take nicely to any of it, so they must be disposed of if they will not concede. They inhibit our path.”  
“Killed or captured,” Blue said. “Is that true?” The Jiralhanae nodded.  
“They will revolt and take over the Fleets,” she continued. “They will trick the Councilors and slaughter them without mercy.” He continued to nod.  
“Slaughter the weak, behold the strong,” he said angrily.  
“All for the purpose of one to rule all,” she finished. “We are done here.” She turned her recording off.  
“What should we do with him?” ‘Ayanamee asked. “He’ll surely tell of what we’ve done if we let him go, and he’ll be missed if we don’t.”  
“He won’t be missed,” Blue said. “He won’t tell, either, because he won’t remember a thing.”  
She reached into the Jiralhanae’s mind, searching for his most recent memories. Once she found them, she poured her energy forth, removing them from his mind. Her vision darkened with the effort.  
Sleep.  
The Jiralhanae immediately fell to snoring, in thunderous fashion. She shuddered, metal plates on her neck lifting with discomfort.  
“I don’t want to have to do that again,” she whispered, shaking her head, feeling foggy. It had taken much of her energy to wipe his memory.  
“I will return him to his quarters,” she told the crew. “He will remember nothing but a long, peaceful rest. And then I must rest as well, for this has taxed me greatly.”  
“And the footage?” ‘Ayanamee asked.  
“I have sent it to Aethon, who will send it to you,” she promised. “Keep it for a later time, when we will send it out to the Sangheili fleets all across the galaxy, revealing to them the betrayal of the Prophets. For now, Aethon will be fabricating more messages for your crew to spread. I must record a bit more of footage to add as an introduction, and then we will be prepared. But first...I really must rest.”  
~


	13. 1.12: The Point of No Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in Texas all weekend so yee-haw I guess
> 
> I'm sure everyone familiar with the Halo canon knows whereabouts we are in the story by now. I hope you've been enjoying the fic so far!

1.12:

Blue held up the piece of paper in her hands, admiring the poetry. Then, the parchment surface turned into a screen, displaying her introduction, speaking to the camera. After she spoke, it turned to the videos of the interrogation, her point of view and the camera drone’s point of view side-by-side. After that, it returned to her face for a concluding statement.  
“Good job, Aethon,” she commended her ship. “This is well made.”  
“It casts a sound barrier around itself too,” the ship replied proudly. “No eavesdropping on these messages.”  
“How are your energy stores?” she asked. “This must’ve been very intensive.”  
“It was,” he admitted, “but it is nothing a bit of rest won’t fix. My reactors are recharging my stores just fine.”  
Blue nodded. She still felt tired, and wouldn’t be back to her normal self for probably another day.  
“Thanks to my telepathy, I know when the Prophets plan to make their move,” she told the ship. “We’ll circulate these over the next few days, just in case they get suspicious and try to start this deal early. I’ll also need defense/evac point maps to give around, once we’re further in.”  
“They’ll get made,” BTS said from the ground, where he was relaxing. “Don’t you worry.”  
“My people are ready,” ‘Refumee and ‘Bandolee were also in the cabin, along with a few others. “I’ve debriefed them on what we’re to do.”  
“They’re loyal to our cause, for sure?” the draconic asked.  
‘Refumee nodded. “They know the falsehoods of the Great Journey, and they are intensely loyal to me above all else. Anyone who threatens to kill me they will fight.”  
“I’ve been garnering support among the Unggoy and Kig-Yar,” Blue told him. “Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee’s crew are indeed an odd bunch, but their outlandishness has united them. Those who had doubted the legitimacy of my words on the Great Journey have been swayed by the proof from the Oracle; any Sangheili who doubted me are now most certainly aboard, with their own lives in grave danger. The Kig-Yar of this small fleet have no doubt in their minds, as long as I continue to lavish them with gifts and praise. Many of them are seeking new opportunities for trade and plunder as well, since we’ll be having quite a few Jiralhanae-controlled ships for them to pirate soon. And the Unggoy, they’re loyal to ‘Ayanamee. He may not treat them as equals, but he treats them better than most shipmasters.”  
“You’re hoping that the support you have from this core group will radiate to others,” ‘Refumee said. “What of the Yanme’e and Lekgolo? And Huragok? You seem to have neglected them.”  
“The Lekgolo are already sided with the Sangheili,” Blue replied. “The Huragok are simply servants to the machines they aid. And, well, the Yanme’e are quite difficult to talk to, even for me. They’re going to follow whoever commands them. I feel any attempts to sway them would be a threat to our cause, lest they report my activities.”  
‘Refumee nodded. “I can see the truth in that.”  
“If I can get the Unggoy as a whole on my side, it is quite possible they alone will be able to defend High Charity,” she continued, crossing her arms over her chest. “They are the most numerous, and are formidable when they work together. They are mistreated by all, but the Jiralhanae are the worst. They will not follow them.”  
‘Refumee started laughing. “The Unggoy? Defend High Charity?” he scoffed. “You must be delusional.”  
“They are small, yes. But give them equal armament as an Elite?” The draconic unhooked a roll of portable shielding devices from her belt. “They will become unstoppable.”  
The Sangheili raised an eyebrow. “You plan to give them energy shields?”  
She nodded. “Exactly.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_And you get a shielding device, and you get a shielding device...shielding devices for everyone!_  
Blue and BTS were handing out the stacks of thin discs to all of ‘Refumee and ‘Ayanamee’s crew. BTS was wandering around the Kig-Yar, Blue with the Unggoy.  
“Cool thing for Sirsir!” the excited Unggoy was perched on Blue’s shoulders like a strange, scaly, too-large parrot. He grabbed onto her horns like they were reins, pulling on the draconic’s head.  
“Oi, watch the horns,” she complained. “They’re sharp on the ends, and you make me lose my balance when you do that.”  
Sirsir pretty much ignored her, proudly puffing out his chest with the little shielding device stuck to his armor.  
Aethon had been practically put to sleep by the tax fabricating all the devices (plus maintaining his supercloak) had on his energy stores. It had gotten so bad that Blue had to connect his energy cells to the Fearless Wander’s reactors in order to keep up the fabrication.  
“Shutting down nonessential processes,” he had muttered before going offline. Starships didn’t snore, but he was as close to it as one could get.  
They’d produced near to seven thousand shielding devices. All of ‘Refumee and ‘Ayanamee’s crew (minus the Jiralhanae) had one. The remainder would go to any Councilors who joined their cause, as extra protective measures (those ones also included transmitters that would allow them to communicate with Blue and the others), and to the Unggoy most loyal to Blue. The Unggoy discs took the least time and energy to produce, so Blue was assured she’d have plenty to give out by the time the fights broke out.  
The Kig-Yar were being prepped to spread the damning footage of the Jiralhanae’s confession around. They knew their routes very well by now, and the prize for successfully completing a round this time was up to the individual’s choice, from a short list. Money, rare items, weapons, and rights to enemy ships and gear. Nothing was more tempting than personal choice.  
‘Ayanamee had designated groups of his Sangheili as evacuation crews; Blue had supplied them with short-lived supercloaking devices. They’d be using the devices to sneak groups of Councilors back to the Fearless Wander or other Sangheili defense points within the underground warrens of their homes on High Charity. These warrens were practically self-sufficient, with their own power sources and life support systems separate from those of High Charity as a whole. And the Sangheili knew them much better than the Jiralhanae, who were not welcome in them, did.  
Blue had mapped out the whole place from the memories of the Sangheili. She’d identified spots that were easily defendable, but also had access by which reinforcements could come and escape was possible. She wanted to have every detail pinned down.  
She finished handing out the discs and took a seat, exhaling.  
_I need to be at full power when the time comes._  
“I need to go get food,” she told Sirsir. “It’d probably be best if you stayed here.”  
At that moment, she became aware of a commotion nearby, outside the ship. Through the umbilicus connection between the ship and the docks, she could hear someone banging angrily on the door.  
“Jiralhanae!” she hissed. _It’s your Brute crewmembers, ‘Ayanamee!_  
The shipmaster, in the command center, had also noticed the commotion through the intercom outside the door. _Curse the bastards! They’ve probably noticed how often we’re on the ship, and want to know why they’ve been left out when we’re supposed to be on shore leave.  
Who thought they’d actually care?_ Blue cursed. _They suspect us of scheming!_  
“Let us in!” the Jiralhanae on the other side were yelling. “What’ve you been doing, all holed up in there?”  
_Damn them...I bet they were approached by the High Prophet of Truth, who instilled this suspicion in them._ She let her mind scan the cohort outside. _It’s just the crew...looks like there wasn’t enough proof to outright raid us yet.  
If they’re answering to the High Prophets, there is no way we can kill them,_ ‘Ayanamee sounded angered. _If they don’t return to report, we will surely be discovered!_  
The Shipmaster’s willingness to use ‘just kill them’ as a solution was a bit concerning. Blue faced the gathered crowd. “Return to your barracks! If the Jiralhanae come, say nothing to them of this! Put on your shielding devices; make them discreet. They will be nearly invisible once adhered to your armor.”  
The crowd scattered, and Blue herself followed.  
_I’m too tired to supercloak,_ she told ‘Ayanamee. _I need to keep my energy up in case of a disaster. I will be aboard Aethon. If they’re coming to the hangar, let me know so Aethon can remove his invisibility so they won’t get suspicious of his disappearance.  
What’s going on?_ She pulled ‘Refumee into their conversation, and the Sangheili reacted with confusion.  
_My Jiralhanae crew are outside, demanding to be let in,_ ‘Ayanamee explained. _They are suspicious.  
We’re going to show them there’s nothing to be suspicious of, _Blue reassured them. _I’m coming to Aethon._  
She scurried aboard the ship; ‘Ayanamee, on the other side of the frigate, let in the Jiralhanae.  
“What’re you all doing here?” the leader of the group demanded. He glowered at the ship, lips pulled back just a little to show traces of large, yellowed teeth.  
“You know many of my crew find it more comfortable to remain aboard the ship, in the company of one another,” the Shipmaster replied calmly.  
The Jiralhanae snorted. “Strange creatures. Weird ones. Not suited for any work more than menial tasks, they are.” He pushed roughly past ‘Ayanamee. “We’ll have a look around.”  
“I think you are forgetting who is Shipmaster, here, Casurus,” ‘Ayanamee growled, stepping in front of the bigger creature. “I will ask that you treat me with the proper respect if I am to allow you to wander my ship.”  
“Out of my way,” Casurus snarled, eyes flaring.  
Blue sensed the Shipmaster tense in readiness to strike against the Jiralhanae. She yelled out to his mind, _DON’T YOU DARE! If you attack them, they will have all the more reason to go back to Truth and get us discovered!_  
At her words, ‘Ayanamee was just barely restrained. He glowered with anger as the troop of Jiralhanae walked by and proceeded to search through the ship.  
_They are coming to the hangar. They are you problem now._ His mental voice was curt and cold.  
“Aethon, remove your invisibility only,” Blue ordered. The weary ship complied.  
She could sense the Jiralhanae outside, along with ‘Ayanamee and his escort.  
“I want to look inside,” Casurus growled.  
“It’s locked,” ‘Ayanamee replied. “Only the Ascendant can unlock it, and she is not here.”  
“Well, just break in, then!” Casurus barked. “What does it matter?”  
‘Ayanamee stiffened. “This ship is a piece of ancient technology from the time of the Forerunners. I will not stand to see it damaged.”  
Casurus snorted. “What’s it to you? It’s not a Forerunner ship, just one from a measly underling species.” He waved at the Shipmaster dismissively. “Ah, you people are too sensitive about these precious objects. Find the creature, and get her to unlock it, then.”  
“I would if I had any idea where she was,” ‘Ayanamee replied, “but I don’t. You’ll have to find her yourself.”  
Casurus bared his teeth threateningly. “Why are you being so difficult? Are you hiding something?”  
_Stay cool, stay cool, stay cool,_ Blue was berating ‘Ayanamee. He looked insulted.  
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing?” he asked, incredulous. “I am a loyal member of this Covenant and devout worshipper of the Forerunners. You have no right to treat me in this manner.”  
“Bioscan comes up empty,” one of the other Jiralhanae admitted. “That ship’s got nothing in it, boss.”  
Casurus snarled unhappily. “So be it. Let us leave this pathetic ship.”  
“If you’re going to call her so, than you may leave her permanently,” ‘Ayanamee told him. “Casurus, you are ejected from my crew, and will not be let back on this ship.”  
The Jiralhanae turned, an angry roar building in his throat. He stopped, however, when he saw all the threatening faces of the surrounding Sangheili, who outnumbered him and his group.  
“Get off my ship,” ‘Ayanamee said coldly. With one, final glare, raw with hate, Casurus turned away, bringing his group with him.  
As they walked through the door leading back to the docks, Casurus turned. “Your fate will be bloody, Shipmaster.”  
‘Ayanamee crossed his arms. “I have no room aboard for your hateful disdain, Casurus. This fleet has no place for those not respectful to one another.”  
With a final growl, the Jiralhanae turned away, the doors shutting behind him.  
Once it was safe, Blue left Aethon’s cargo bay and trotted back to ‘Ayanamee, who had remained by the doorway.  
“They definitely seem like they’re onto something,” she said worriedly.  
“Would the Oracle have told them anything?” ‘Ayanamee asked her.  
She shook her head. “They haven’t asked him about it, otherwise they’d surely know. Plus, Spark is in a bit of a...comatose state at the moment.” She shrugged a little guiltily. “I snuck into the Prophet’s chambers a while back and put a temporary damper on his system. I unfortunately couldn’t do it in time to stop them from learning about activating Halo; they asked him that right away.” She rubbed the back of her neck with a hand, careful of her armored plates. “I feel bad about knocking him out like that, but he does talk a lot, and I did promise I would do what was necessary to keep us secret.”  
“No matter,” ‘Ayanamee said curtly. “We must focus on these things one at a time.”  
“The humans will try to stop the Halos from being activated,” Blue risked saying. Ambassador Wukong hadn’t given her much information on the humans, despite the fact they were badly losing the war with the Covenant. But they knew the truth as well.  
‘Ayanamee’s head whipped around, amber eyes getting narrow. “What do you know of the humans?”  
“They know about the truth of the Halos,” she replied, standing her ground. “Why else would the Prophets be so intent on silencing them? They are a threat to their every plan.”  
‘Ayanamee still looked suspicious. “The humans are a pestilence, a mar to our religion. They destroyed holy relics without shame.” His voice was venomous and disdainful.  
“The humans know the truth,” the draconic repeated. “If the truth was ever to come out, the Prophets would lose total control of everything. This isn’t about religion or righteousness, Shipmaster. This is about power.” She straightened up, wishing she was taller. “Tell me, what righteous being would declare genocide on another, simply because that other will not play along with their plans?”  
‘Ayanamee looked away. “That is not a righteous act.”  
Blue crossed her arms. “As we speak, such foul plans are unfolding around us, you will see. All I want is to save the good people of this Covenant from destruction, and unite us in defense of this galaxy.”  
“Defense against whatever threatens it,” ‘Ayanamee repeated. “Even if that threat is the ones who led us for all of history.”  
“The Prophets lied to us,” the draconic pressed. “All of us. We have no reason to follow liars who will slaughter us like livestock to serve their purposes.”  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “You speak true. I just wish this was not how this ancient order would come to an end.”  
“It’s not coming to an end,” Blue replied. “We will lead the Covenant to true greatness, once we are free of hatred and cruelty and lies. It is the Prophets who are betraying the Covenant, not us.”  
“We will remain vigilant,” the Shipmaster promised. “If you say this will not be the end, then so be it. This shall be a beginning of a new age.”  
Blue nodded. “Together, we will rise above all.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“You mean to take a side in this resistance?” Ambassador Wukong was frowning mightily. “You’ve driven your ship to exhaustion fabricating our technologies for these warring barbarians. So what, you can be friends with them?”  
“I’m not just going to let them slaughter each other!” Blue exclaimed at the hologram angrily, fists clenched on the table.  
The Gehirnian narrowed his eyes. “You’re running a great risk here, Blue. If our plan fails, the Covenant will continue to exist. And now they have the knowledge they need to activate the Halos. You will doom us all to destruction!”  
“We won’t lose!” the draconic insisted hotly. “I’m preparing the Sangheili to resist the Prophets. We will win this fight, and those who want to activate the Halos will be removed from power!”  
“How do you know these people have been listening to you?” Wukong yelled. “You have been dealing in shadows, in trickery, with no way to know if your messages have actually been received! You are putting your support to the wind!”  
“I have to be subtle!” she shouted back. “If we get found out before we’re ready, we will certainly lose!” She thrust a finger at the hologram. “And I do know that they have been listening to me. There isn’t a mind on this station that I can’t read!”  
“You’re on the track to lose anyways!” Wukong replied angrily, putting his hands on the table. “Statistically speaking, your chances drop as you continue to add complexities to this mission. If you would just let them collapse themselves to dust, we would be fine!”  
“And let millions, billions of civilians die?” she asked. “You know I can’t do that.”  
The ambassador inhaled, clearly composing himself. He folded his hands on the table. “I wouldn’t ask you to do so. But you need to remember who you’re protecting.” He pointed at her. “You are an operative of the Planetary Alliance. The AP is your home. This station is not it.”  
Blue balled up her fists. “The people here are no less worthy of my protection than the citizens of the AP. They’re lost. They need someone to guide them back into the light.”  
“You are a stealth operative, not a priest,” Wukong said crossly. “Stick to what you are good at, Blue. I will speak with you later.” He dropped the line, hologram vanishing.  
The draconic dropped her head, slumping. “Hardass,” she muttered.  
“He’s just looking out for the AP’s best interests,” BTS reasoned from where he was laying on the floor. “I mean, it would be so much easier to just let the two sides of this Covenant beat each other into oblivion.”  
“Easier to let happen, but hard on the mind,” Blue grumbled. “I wouldn’t be able to look at myself if I just let these people get slaughtered.” She gestured out Aethon’s windshield. “We’ve only been here a short time, but think of all the good people we’ve met. They don’t deserve what’s coming for them.”  
“Most people don’t,” the tiger admitted. “But we can’t save everyone.”  
The draconic shook her head. “Doesn’t mean I won’t try.”  
~


	14. 1.13: Over the Edge

1.13

“Let’s move, guys, high priority mail here,” Blue hustled her Kig-Yar, handing out bundles of the innocent poems, some of them attached to transmitters and shielding devices. “Move swiftly; do not be stopped. You know your routes. Our time is but short, and soon it will be hazardous to walk these streets. Your rewards await you upon a successful return.”  
“Great risks we are taking, for the sake of our superiors,” Shipmistress Chur’R-Kel droned from the top of her treasure pile, holding a brand new book of word puzzles. “Great rewards you say we will reap. But I wouldn’t risk my own neck if it were not for these little discs.” She tapped one, clawed finger on her own shielding device. “Your faith in us is inspiring.”  
“I like to believe every creature is capable of greatness,” the draconic replied stoically. “You are all equals, in my mind, on an intrinsic level. There are things, skills and appearances that set you apart, and ranks, but I will not modify my basic treatment because of that.”  
“To Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee I have great respect and loyalty,” Chur’R-Kel continued. “But there are Kig-Yar here that are not of my crew, or even of the fleet. Their only connection to us is through you. Your ability to command is impressive.”  
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Blue feigned, thinking about her past, mostly simulated, attempts at commanding teams. They had gone alright.  
“You must have been a godlike warrior, before your self-imprisonment,” the Kig-Yar commented. “It’s a pity you are restrained like this.” She vaguely gestured to her wrists.  
“I cling to the hope I will one day find the correct device to release me from these chains,” the draconic replied, “but it has been so many years I am near to used to it.”  
“Indeed,” Chur’R-Kel agreed. “I would be curious to see what one who has Ascended could do, for the same fate awaits us who complete the Great Journey. But,” her eyes were doleful, “the Path is lost if the Halos are not as they were said.”  
“The Great Journey is still possible, it’s just not that easy,” Blue reassured her. “The Path is clouded and riddled with difficulty, but we are all capable of following it.”  
“Through righteousness, through respect, through unity,” the shipmistress repeated. “Your preachings have spread, Ascendant. It won’t be long until they come to the Prophet’s ears.”  
“Well, seeing that we only have a short time until the Prophets start this terrible genocide, it will be too late by the time they find out,” Blue was confident. “Just the fact that we can speak of this here, without fear of being overheard, means wonders for our chances.”  
Chur’R-Kel inspected her claws. “How lucky we are that sound is easy to dampen.”  
The sniper shot hit Blue directly in the back of the head, detonating on impact and throwing her forwards. It rang harsh against her shields, but did not pierce them. She whipped around, snarling, wings mantling, just in time to receive another shot straight to the chest, making her stumble back and fall to one knee, shields flickering.   
_Move!_ She managed to kick off the ground and duck behind Chur’R-Kel’s furniture pile. Another sniper shot plowed into the ground where she had been, leaving a long, burnt slash in the floor.  
The handful of remaining Kig-Yar scattered, panicking and running from the room. Blue threw her mind out and detected the offending sniper, one of the Kig-Yar. She was now running away, seeing that even her powerful shots couldn’t down the silvered beast. More worrisome, however, were the two Jiralhanae outside that had managed to round up around half of her Kig-Yar messengers and were proceeding to confiscate the love poems and shielding devices.  
 _No!_ She shocked the air around her, jamming their transmitters. A quick bolt of energy, arcing over their heads and out the door, took down the fleeing sniper. Chur’R-Kel calmly perched on her treasure pile, looking amused.  
“Traitor!” Blue snarled, rounding on the shipmistress.  
“The Prophets pay better!” the shipmistress shot back, before jumping from her pile and fleeing the room. But another bolt of energy stopped her in her tracks; it struck her shielding device and turned it against her, paralyzing her limbs. She fell to the ground, gasping.  
Blue ran from the room, heading towards the group of Kig-Yar that had been stopped. Thankfully, the Jiralhanae had only covered one of the exits. She supercloaked herself and snuck up on them.  
“They’re just love poems, boss,” one of the Jiralhanae said disparagingly. “No idea what these discs are, though.”  
“They’re just trinkets,” one of the Kig-Yar said bravely. “Decorations.”  
“Who were you going to give these to?” the Jiralhanae demanded.  
“We were simply spreading them around, for the entertainment of others,” the Kig-Yar replied.  
“Don’t lie to me!” the Jiralhanae snarled, grabbing the smaller creature around the neck and hoisting him off the ground. “You scaled scum don’t entertain anyone but yourselves!”  
 _Sleep,_ Blue urged, touching the attacker’s back. The Jiralhanae collapsed to the ground, snoring. His partner recoiled angrily, but stumbled and fell with purple needles in his back. The Kig-Yar hissed angrily, guns out. They were quick to recover their papers and devices, angrily spitting at the sleeping Jiralhanae. Blue uncloaked herself, walking over to the slightly-choked one and helping him back to his feet.  
“Chur’R-Kel betrayed us,” she told them. “The Prophets tempted her with riches, and she turned tail. They sent a sniper to try and kill me.”  
“I mean, riches are nice,” someone muttered.  
“Where’d they go?” another Kig-Yar asked.   
“They’re both unconscious, back in the barracks, Ree,” Blue replied. “I’ll learn from Chur’R-Kel actually how much she told them. For now, resume your pursuits.” She glanced at the Jiralhanae. “I’ll give the one who survived a stack of the “confiscated” poems and send him back to the Prophets with memories of nothing but peaceful interaction. And, uh, a tale of how his partner currently has bad indigestion.”  
“You defeated Chur’R-Kel,” Ree said admiringly. “You’re our matriarch now.”  
Blue’s eyes widened, caught off guard. “Oh, is that how that works?”  
Ree nodded vigorously. “She challenged you and you defeated her.” He shrugged, and continued, “In my personal opinion, I will gladly count that as an overthrow and accept you as my matriarch.”  
The other Kig-Yar nodded. “Chur’R-Kel was very vain and conceited. You’ll be a much nicer matriarch to follow.”  
“Seeing how you don’t keep riches, you can just give them all to us!” another said brightly.  
“Oh, alright, then,” Blue was a bit bewildered, but thankful. “I’ll gladly be your matriarch. Tell you what; after you all get back, I’ll divide all of Chur’R-Kel’s treasure among you, as a reward. I have no need for it.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“She didn’t tell them much, thankfully,” Blue told ‘Ayanamee as the two observed their Kig-Yar prisoners, Chur’R-Kel and the sniper. “They asked her if I had visited the Kig-Yar a lot, and what I did with them. She gave them a very ambiguous answer, probably hoping to wrangle more payment out of them. They offered her money if she told them more details; she said they should come to the barracks at the time I was handing out the papers and confiscate them from the Kig-Yar who had them, but she didn’t say what the papers were.”  
The sniper had been a distraction (and a hope of actually killing her, but a really small hope), also paid to do his job. “They supposed I would’ve chased him, enraged, and let the Jiralhanae get away. Their suspicion is still high, but they have yet to gain damning evidence to convince anyone else of our activities.”  
“I am utterly disgraced,” ‘Ayanamee growled to Chu’R-Kel through the barrier over the jail cell. “One of my own fleet, willing to turn against me like that, just for the sake of money. You would see me killed, slaughtered because of my race, so you can earn a bit?”  
“It is folly to resist the might of the Prophets,” she snarled back. “While their religion may be hogwash, their ultimate control is not. Might as well just go with them. It’ll save your own skin, and they would have set me up nicely.”  
“I resign your position as shipmistress over to Tren ‘Verumee,” ‘Ayanamee growled. “Normally I’d court-martial you, but seeing you’re on the side of the Prophets, I’ll be your judge, jury, and executioner.” He shut off the energy barrier.  
Two shots from his sidearm, right through the skull, and both Kig-Yar were dead instantly.   
Blue winced. “Was that really necessary?”  
“Yes,” the Shipmaster replied coldly. He glared darkly at the two bodies. “Unless you were planning on torturing them like you did the Jiralhanae? I would have enjoyed watching that.”  
A cold, furious ball knotted up in the draconic’s stomach, and it must have shown on her face, because the Shipmaster took a step back, eyes getting a little wider. Blue looked away, eyes squeezed shut, teeth bared. The only thing keeping her from striking ‘Ayanamee for saying such a thing were the multiple, armed Sangheili standing behind him.  
“I-I should not have said that,” he quickly backtracked. “My apologies, Ascendant. Your powers are not meant for such a thing.”  
“My ethics,” she corrected quietly. “You are correct, Shipmaster.”  
He dipped his head a little, eyes still smoldering as he looked away from her.  
“The Kig-Yar are saying I’m their matriarch now,” she piped up, eager to try and diffuse his simmering rage.  
‘Ayanamee’s head turned back and he stared at her, astonished. “Excuse me?”  
“Kel’s crew claimed me as their matriarch after I knocked out and captured her,” the draconic elaborated. “I literally couldn’t stop them. I accepted, and now they’ve told all the other Kig-Yar that I’m their matriarch. I have to go visit the resident matriarchs and the Brood Mother in order to get formally accepted right after this.”  
‘Ayanamee looked incredulous. “If I challenged Kel or any other damned matriarch in that entire hellhole, and honorably defeated them, I wouldn’t become the new matriarch. What makes you so damn special?”  
Blue raised an eyebrow. “Maybe because I’m a female and they’re a female-led society?”  
‘Ayanamee huffed angrily, crossing his arms. “They were just too eager to get rid of the henpecking broody.”  
Blue smirked. “I think you’re jealous.”  
‘Ayanamee glared at her. “How dare you! Why would I be jealous of being the leader of a pack of scrappy Kig-Yar?”   
Blue raised both her eyebrows, giving him a knowing look. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and said, “Fine. Maybe I am a little jealous. It seems all too easy for you to just waltz in here like you did, and get everyone to listen to you.”  
“Maybe it’s because I make friends, not subordinates,” she replied. “You’re a great leader, Shipmaster, strict but fair. Your crew respects you because they know that. They respect me because I have earned their respect a different way.”  
“Whatever,” ‘Ayanamee grumbled. “As long as you’re getting people on our side, I guess I can’t complain. You are the only one between us and total destruction.”  
Blue drew her head up. “Don’t discredit yourselves. You can do everything I can, just in different ways.”  
“You have all the fire of an Unggoy deacon,” ‘Ayanamee said, a bit grudgingly. “I guess I should not be surprised that they follow you so eagerly.”  
“My time of reckoning is now,” the Ascendant replied. “As we speak, the Councilors and Sangheili have been delivered the paper which holds their fate. If we are lucky, they will heed my warning and keep this on the down-low, prepared to come with our escort parties when we send them out. If we are unlucky, they’ll outright riot, and we’ll lose the element of surprise and coordination.” She tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “However, I think we are in a good position for counterattack, seeing that much of the fleet has gone with Regret to a faraway planet. Even if I cannot sway everyone, once the genocide itself begins, they will rally to us.”  
“You hope,” ‘Ayanamee cautioned. “We are a proud people, and will fight our own battles. We may respect you for your outstanding martial skill, but that does not mean we will follow you.”  
“We shall see,” Blue replied. “Every device activated, I will notice. Once the Councilors activate theirs, we shall be able to directly converse with them. If my voice in recording cannot convince them, then my voice in live shall. Even if not...I’m not unwilling to forcefully evacuate some of them.” She turned, making it clear she had other business to attend to. The Shipmaster nodded and turned away as well.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue cast a small, blue chip, homogeneous in appearance and about the size of a cracker, onto the table. It glowed and cast a large hologram across the surface.   
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright, this is the best diagram of High Charity I could whip up.” She pointed to the hologram, which was coverd in dots of multiple colors. “The grey dots are the Councilors who saw the recordings but didn’t activate their shielding device. All the white dots are those who did. The green dots are the ones who’ve contacted me for further information, and have promised to stay silent and comply, or have done so after I convinced them. I checked all their minds to make sure they were telling the truth.”  
“And the red dots?” ‘Ayanamee asked, pointing. He and his usual crew, plus ‘Refumee, ‘Bandolee, and their trusted Sangheili, were gathered around the table.  
“Those are the ones who contacted me and have refused to comply,” she said. “Or the ones who watched the recordings and were going to report us. The self-destruction of the papers themselves discouraged a few, but some I’ve had to put to sleep. I’ve asked some of the green-lighted Elites to go find their sleeping compatriots and get them somewhere safe, though a couple of them have already been rounded up by other citizens. They’ll cause a bit of confusion, but it’ll probably be blamed on a bad batch of food or something.”  
“You are monitoring all of these people?” ‘Refumee asked incredulously.  
“I’m drawing on both Aethon and BTS’s power sources to sustain my efforts,” she replied. “They’ve got fusion reactors onboard; I unfortunately do not. But don’t worry about me. I’m charging up to intertwine all the connections; once that occurs, everyone with a transmitter will be able to communicate with each other. For now, I’m relying on the Councilors to spread the word. More of the population got my preemptive messages, so they’re already suspicious. And then a trusted friend or leader warns them of imminent destruction? It’s becoming convincing.”  
“And when I broadcast this same recording to all of the Sangheili fleets, they will unite with us,” ‘Ayanamee proclaimed.   
Blue nodded. “I’m going to have myself, Aethon, and BTS working on the inside. Once you and ‘Refumee have evacuated everyone, you need to get to the battle outside. I could send Aethon with you at first; he could supercloak the Fearless Wander and allow you to sneak up on the stronger Jiralhanae ships. Ideally, the Sangheili onboard will rebell and overtake these ships once they receive the videos. Then we won’t have to destroy them.”  
“But I will not hesitate to do so,” ‘Ayanamee said staunchly. “The Fearless Wander is outgunned by most of High Charity’s fleet. But with the help of your ship, we will gain a powerful advantage.”  
“Furthermore,” the draconic continued, “I’m going to send a group to overtake the Assembly Forges once we’ve gotten more stable control of High Charity; I’ll provide them with a template for the shielding devices, and they should be able to be produced there. They’ll need to be brought to Aethon, BTS, or I’s attention to be activated, but we can do that remotely, so it shouldn’t be much of an issue.”  
She waved her hand over the map, and it shifted, dots changing. More appeared, lit in blue. “These are all the Unggoy who’ve received shielding devices; all of them are currently on this ship. I’ll be giving extras to them once we get them produced, and they’ll hand them out to whoever joins us. The yellow dots are the Kig-Yar with shields. The purple ones are all of the Sangheili of our two crews. Through this map, we’ll be able to keep track of everyone’s movements, so it’s vital it remains safely aboard this ship.”  
She started, pausing. One of the white dots turned green.  
“Wonderful,” she said. “We have another one joining up. Running mental scan...he’s telling the truth.”  
“This is fantastic technology,” ‘Ayanamee was awed by the map, squinting at the blue chip under the hologram. “But what it is, exactly?”  
“It’s called a core,” the draconic told him. “It’s the solid form of pure energy, and it’s programmable like a computer. BTS and Aethon’s brains are very powerful, very dense cores.”  
“Were there more beings like them, in your history?” the Shipmaster asked.  
She shook her head. “I’m the only Lupine warrior powerful enough to create a core so dense it can contain sentient life.”  
“Look, more dots turn from grey to white,” ‘Bandolee observed. “And more grey dots appear.”  
A bright red dot appeared. Blue winced. “Aaaaand that’s another red one. He’s unsure, but he doesn’t want to believe me, so he just contacted me to tell me I’m crazy. But at the same time, he’s not going to mention this to anyone.”  
“You can’t save everyone,” ‘Refumee commented. “I say let those who won’t be swayed stay on their own, if they will inhibit us.”  
“More will be convinced, slowly,” Blue promised. “The Prophets have no choice but to move forward with their plan. And everything they do will now be viewed with suspicion.”  
“What do you think their next move will be?” ‘Ayanamee asked.  
She shrugged. “I can’t be sure. But there are still many Sangheili in higher positions. They’ll need to do something with them.”  
“We’ve got news,” Aethon drifted into the conversation. “Just as you were saying, Blue. The Prophets have made another move. They’re transitioning the Honor Guardsmen from Sangheili to Jiralhanae.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	15. 1.14: The Earthshaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are 31 chapters in this fic if anyone was curious. So we're *almost* halfway through it.

1.14  
It would come to be called the Changing of the Guard, met with a tide of outrage from the Sangheili Honor Guardsmen, removed from their near-sacred jobs and replaced by Jiralhanae. They were followed by the Councilors, many threatening to resign.  
_Regret is dead - the Sangheili failed as defenders of the Prophets - thus they will be replaced._  
The dots, which Blue began to refer to by their colors, changed drastically after this. A lot of Greys turned White, a lot of Whites turned Green, and even a few Reds contacted her grudgingly, seeking an answer. More Reds were converted by their Green friends; a few remained Red (and a few remained asleep). By this point, the map was a little less than fifty percent grey, and near to fifty percent green and white. Higher numbers would be nice, but she’d take what she could get.  
High Charity, meanwhile, was mobilizing to enter a fight with the humans, which would provide a nice distraction. The Prophet of Regret needed to be avenged - apparently, it wasn’t often a human managed a kill like this. And rumors were, whoever had killed the Prophet wasn’t a regular human.  
Blue had no more time to rest- she was either constantly scheming, talking to someone, or communicating with the Councilors via the devices. She’d eaten through almost a month’s worth of rations in around half a day, and still needed to draw on Aethon and BTS to stay afloat. Headaches were now her constant companion.  
“Sirsir,” she called, “how’re we doing, down in the methane fields?”  
_Well, well we are doing. I have few, few thousand who want to fight the mean Brutes. More curious, but they unsure. They want shields, to be safe._  
“We need to get those Assembly Forges under control as soon as possible,” she affirmed. “A few thousand is alright for now, Sirsir. I’ll be sending someone to pick you guys up soon.”  
One of the Councilors rudely busted into her mind; he was one of the Whites, and seemed eager to become a Red. Blue winced, narrowing her eyes against the mental berating.  
“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I have no reason to lie, I promise I’m not trying to cause trouble. I’m trying to prevent it.” She was roundly informed of her imminent reportation; with a sigh, she waved her finger. Sleep. The other end of the line dropped. Her vision waved a little.  
She contacted the nearest group of Greens, who’d already picked up seven Reds and convinced four of them to join them (possibly at gunpoint). She was beginning to refer to them as Retrieval Team One, just out of comedy’s sake for what they seemed overly eager to do.  
A lot of the Greens were beginning to group up on the map, without being asked. Blue suspected they had a lot of unmarked Sangheili with them as well; as long as they didn’t draw attention to their gatherings, she wouldn’t bother them.  
There was movement outside; barely audible. ‘Ayanamee appeared in the doorway.  
“We should be moving soon,” he said, voice low. “It is approaching that time.”  
Blue nodded. “Take a supercloaking device with each party, and get them to your respective hold points. ‘Refumee’s crew will replace yours while they’re out.”  
“As much as I detest replacing my crew with heretics, I understand this move,” ‘Ayanamee grumbled.  
“They’re not heretics,” Blue reminded him. “They’re right, remember?”  
“Right, right,” he muttered. “Forgive my habits.”  
“No, forgive me for putting you in such a dangerous situation,” Blue replied. “The random chance that brought you upon me, so long ago, has put you in the position of ultimate risk.”  
“We would all be dead by the next daybreak if it was not for you,” he retorted. “I should consider myself lucky to know the terrible truth.”  
Blue stood, nodding respectfully. “Alright. Aethon, BTS, lend me your strength. I’ve got to intertwine the transmitter routes. It’s time to make the biggest, messiest group chat in group chat history.”  
She lifted her hands, all the lines sprawling from her mind, connecting to each transmitter, coming into her view. She reached for them within her mind, grabbed them, and merged them carefully together, like weaving strings into a rope.  
At first, they resisted becoming one, large bundle; there were so many lines to connect. But she ground her teeth together and forced them onwards. The many, separate lines became one, glowing tube, splitting off as it ran away from her. She lowered her hands, suddenly feeling afraid when she realized they were shaking. But she steeled herself, shook her head, and put her mind to the network.  
“Hello, everyone,” she said. “Welcome to our communications network; heed my words, everyone with a transmitter can hear you if you speak in here. Please be courteous and try not to talk over each other.”  
She was immediately barraged by a storm of exclamations, which only served to escalate as everyone figured out that everyone else could hear them now. Blue grabbed her horns in frustration, headache worsening.  
“Quiet, quiet, please!” she harried. “Don’t speak in here unless it’s necessary; I can handle a thousand voices clamoring in my head at once, but nobody else can, so please, for the comfort of your peers, don’t crowd this connection.”  
She could tell who each person that spoke was; nobody else could. “Also, you must state your name before speaking, so we know who you are.”  
She took a breath. “High Councilors, we’re going to be sending escorts to set locations, which I will send to you. They’ll be travelling under supercloak, which, if you’ve heard anything of it, cannot be detected by any of your technologies. One member of the escort teams will be outside the cloak; they’ll direct you where to go. They’ll be bringing you to another set of defense points. If you receive any orders from the High Prophets or Jiralhanae on travelling to any location, do not comply. We have all the reason to believe these will be set-ups.”  
_We have others with us - can they come?_  
“Of course,” Blue replied to the question. “Try to bring along as many supporters as possible. Be sure of their loyalty, however. These are the points you should make your way to, where the escorts will be.” She sent over the locations. “Our command center is aboard the frigate Fearless Wander; this ship is our final fallback if we can’t hold the points.”  
She turned to ‘Ayanamee. “You know what to do.”  
He nodded. “We will fulfill our duty.”  
“Make sure Sirsir and his group are on their way as well,” Blue advised. “They’ll be picking us up a few thousand more recruits, and we won’t want to be missing those.”  
“Where will you be?” ‘Ayanamee asked.  
Blue looked back to the map, full of glowing dots. “I’m going to visit the Kig-Yar, to gather up a few more supporters who are outside of my brood, but I know will side with us. I’ll gather some data on where the Jiralhanae are hanging out...probably visit the Unggoy too, make sure Sirsir’s got his people together. Any problems, call me. BTS will stay with you, and help with defenses.”  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “Good luck out there, Blue. We await your safe return.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“How is your power doing?” Aethon asked. “You seem tired.” He was floating in the shadow of the Fearless Wander, hiding under his supercloak.  
“I’m not where I want to be,” the draconic replied truthfully. “I’m not even sure I can supercloak anymore, not without exhausting myself. And I don’t have time to sit around and eat my weight in food to gain my energy back. Not to mention I’m also trying to micromanage a couple million people at once, by this point.”  
“Do you think the humans will show up once the fighting starts?” the ship asked. “They killed Regret; they must be watching us.”  
“They’re not in much of a position to make an offensive against the most heavily armed fleet of the Covenant,” Blue replied, “but we’ll see.”  
“I wonder who killed Regret,” the ship mused. “Must have been one hell of a soldier.”  
“Yeah,” Blue agreed. “We’ve heard nothing more on the Arbiter either. He’s a wildcard in this play.”  
“I’m sure he’ll come to our side once he knows the truth,” Aethon was optimistic.  
“He’s got a matter of honor to regain,” the draconic said bitterly. “The Prophets took everything from him. It could make him easy to turn, or impossible.”  
“We should check on ‘Ayanamee,” the ship suggested.  
Blue nodded and shut her eyes. _’Ayanamee, how are your people doing?  
Not bad._ ‘Ayanamee was temporarily drowned out by everyone else on the network reporting their states of being, despite Blue having only asked ‘Ayanamee. He waited for them to shut it before continuing.  
_We are awaiting further instruction,_ he reported. _We have gathered many people to the defense points, beyond just the Councilors. They spread the word, and more people are trickling in still. The turnout of Unggoy has been impressive.  
Good. I knew they’d have my back._ As soon as those who’d trusted her learned about the overthrow, they were onboard the plan. No Sangheili meant Jiralhanae commanders, and Jiralhanae commanders were much more liberal with violence when it came to interacting with the smaller species.  
‘Ayanamee moved over to a private line to contact her. _What are you going to do about the truth of the Halos? You have to tell them eventually.  
I’ll get to that when I get to it,_ she replied.  
_You have no plan,_ he accurately accused.  
She frowned. _I’m a bit taxed with other things at the moment.  
Blue, there is a group of Councilors that were aboard ships and never received our warnings,_ Aethon informed her, entering the conversation so ‘Ayanamee could hear him too. _They’re gathering in the Control Room on one of the Halos, and there is a contingent of Jiralhanae ready to slaughter them. We must go swiftly if we want to save them.  
I will tell the others of this,_ ‘Ayanamee promised. _It will continue to prove the Prophet’s betrayal._  
“Get us to the Halo, Aethon,” Blue ordered. “We’ll get the Councillors out of there.”  
His engines revved, and they started moving. Once they were far enough from High Charity, his hyperdrive engaged and space warped around them.  
They reappeared in the snow-laden clouds above the surface of the target Halo. The ship zoomed towards the surface.  
“Targets are inside the Control Room,” he reiterated. “Shall I blast an opening for you?”  
“Do it,” Blue ordered. She crouched down next to a trapdoor in the floor of the cabin.  
“Ten seconds to breach,” the ship warned.  
Blue opened the trapdoor; the long, narrow tube extended down to the exterior of the white starship, another door closing off the bottom. A ladder ran up the tube, but it was large enough for the draconic to jump through without hitting. She dropped into the tube, limbs tucked tight to her sides. Aethon’s underbelly plasma cannon fired, the roaring sound echoing through the hull. Below Blue, the door to the exterior opened in a rush of air. She shot into the atmosphere, roaring filling her ears. Below her, a building of unfamiliar architecture billowed smoke.  
There were people fighting below her, but she was too late to save them. She was not, however, too late to save the people inside. Her wings flared, thrusters on her back fired, and she shot into the breach.  
The last of the Sangheili Councilors were desperately fending off a gang of Jiralhanae. They had been backed into a corner, taking fire from all sides. The bodies of their fallen comrades were strewn about the room.  
Blue landed between the Councilors and the Jiralhanae, pieces of the roof raining down around her. She flashed her wings open, the black membranes shielding the Councilors from fire. She roared at the larger foes, plates along her neck lifting aggressively.  
“It’s the creature!” one of the Jiralhanae snarled. Their captain wasted no time. “Kill the heretical beast!”  
Blue roared again, energy emanating from her, crashing into the surrounding foes, sending them stumbling, falling, weapons dropping. She stood, wings still flared out, and reached over her shoulder, hand closing around the nearly-hidden butt of a weapon shaft that was locked into the space between her two jetpack-style thrusters.  
She drew the weapon from its sheath with the sound of metal on metal. The weapon extended to its full seven foot length, deadly barbs extending from the tip. Sweeping it in a circle around her feet, she displayed it threateningly to the Jiralhanae. It was the Lupine warrior’s most legendary weapon, a deadly and elegant amalgamation of a spear, halberd, and energy rifle with a twist of energetic technology embedded in it. Its name had no translation to their tongue - in this language, it could only be known as an earthshaker.  
She leapt, twirling the weapon around her head and down. The tip impacted the ground, energy shooting along the shaft. A semicircular shockwave emanated through the ground, further disturbing the ranks of her foes. They stumbled and fell, thrown off their feed as the ground rippled and shook under them. The Councilors behind her rallied together with cries of fury, and fired upon the Brutes.  
She lifted her wings out of the way, thrusting the earthshaker out before her and spearing one of the Jiralhanae. Energy burst from the tip; the Jiralhanae was nearly blown in half, showing her and his comrades with blood and bits of flesh. She swung the weapon, sharp tip slashing across another’s midsection. The weapon cut armor and flesh; blood sprayed from the wound and the Jiralhanae stumbled back, howling in pain. The others growled in horror, seeing their own so brutally dispatched.  
But they had recovered enough to start firing back. They barely got in a single shot before Blue put her wings down again, absorbing the tremendous impacts, energy shields lighting up. She howled and lifted her earthshaker to eye level, weapon shaft telescoping to a shorter length. A holographic scope appeared between the upwards-pointing barbs, and she fired a barrage of energy bolts at the Jiralhanae, breaking up their counterattack. The Councilors dodged around her wings, fired, and retreated, taking full advantage of the cover.  
But she couldn’t take the fire forever, and she was under enough strain already. She’d gotten the Jiralhanae back so far that more of the room had opened up, and there was cover along the nearest wall.  
“There are too many of them for us!” she roared to the Councilors. “Come with me!”  
_Aethon! Tractor beam through the hole I’d made would be nice.  
Coming right up, Blue._  
She pointed up at the hole. “Jump up there! My ship will catch you and lift you to safety. I will cover your passage.”  
The Councilors nodded, and she jumped out of cover, leveling the earthshaker at the Jiralhanae and firing more of the deadly shots. Wings out, she fully covered the path to the hole; behind her, the Councilors jumped up, Aethon’s tractor beam catching them and pulling them from the building.  
A berserking Jiralhanae howled, breaking from his cover to charge them. Blue spun her earthshaker around, re-extending it as she did. The berserker charged right into the end of her weapon, impaling himself through the abdomen. The impact force made her stumble back; she shoved her hind foot against the floor, claws screeching across the material. The Jiralhanae howled, swiping at her head. She shoved her wings forwards, shielding herself from the sides. His fist bounced off the black nanocomposite, and then both arms parted from his torso as the blades hidden in the leading edge of her wings sliced through his armor and flesh. Shock crossed his face and he slumped over, dead weight on the end of her earthshaker. The weapon’s barbs retracted and she kicked him off the end.  
The last Councilor was up; Blue followed up the hole, collapsing her earthshaker and shoving it back into the sheath between her shoulders. The Jiralhanae rushed after her; she swept her hand around and cast another wave of energy at them, knocking them away.  
The tractor beam caught her too. She broke from it and flew to the open cargo platform where the handful of rescued Councilors were gathered.  
“Quick, inside,” she ordered. “High Charity is under attack from the Jiralhanae, and we must return. There is an infirmary on the second deck, if anyone needs medical attention. I wish I could provide my services at the moment, but I am under extreme stress.”  
“The Jiralhanae have betrayed us!” one of the Councilors hissed. “All our brothers, slaughtered…”  
“We’re doing much better back in High Charity,” Blue promised. “We will drive these traitors back. Aethon, prepare to jump.”  
She turned, looking out the closing cargo door. As the last of the Halo vanished from sight, she spotted the glint of silver armor.  
_Was that..?_  
And then they jumped into High Charity, appearing in the airspace above the city.  
_This is Blue; I’m back. How’re things looking, ‘Ayanamee?  
We’re holding out just fine below here; more and more reinforcements have joined up, once the Jiralhanae started firing on them. Most of the Sangheili remembered those old messages you gave them, and were somewhat prepared. A lot of them have made their way to us, instead of trying to hold different points on their own._  
Blue scanned the area, the location of every living creature falling out below her. _Seems we’ve cleared almost all the Tower Districts; What’s the situation outside?  
The fleets are fighting each other, but we have once again robbed them of the element of surprise. The Sangheili fleets have the video footage, and alerted each other. Some of the Jiralhanae-controlled ships have been overthrown, though that number is few.  
I’ll get out there if I have to, but for now you guys inside are going to need my help. Things are getting messy up here.  
In what way?  
You’ve got a lot of Jiralhanae patrolling the area; they went straight to the towers and slaughtered everyone there who didn’t get out fast enough. They found very few, so they know you’ve holed up elsewhere. As soon as they find out where you guys are hiding, they’re going to hit hard. It looks like most of the Kig-Yar are siding with them._  
Aethon descended towards the ground, getting as close as he could to one of the defense points, so they could transfer the Councilors to better hands. Blue contacted the command of the nearest point, requesting an escort.  
_We’re getting mobile broadcasts from the High Prophet of Truth. You know why?_  
Blue scanned the area, searching for the presence of the San’Shyumm. _Seems he’s running away from something. Or someone, rather. Someone called ‘Demon’.  
The Demon! _The ripples of disgust were apparent. _Well, such a fate is fitting for a creature who has declared us as for slaughter…  
Who is he?_ The draconic asked.  
_He is the human responsible for the assassination of Regret,_ ‘Ayanamee told her. _I have no clue how he got here. But if he is here, that could mean were are in for a terrible fate._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	16. 1.15: The Parasite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one chapter that I really don't know how to *get* right. It's one of those events, that when you try and change it, it seems foggy and incorrect. Like, there's no way to match what really happened with a parallel version of itself and have it have the same meaning, the same impact. So this'll just have to do.

1.15:

 _The Prophets make their way to the Dreadnought!_ Blue started, head shooting up. “Aethon! We must stop the Dreadnought from departing; it powers this entire base! Without it, we’ll go dark, and fighting will become a lot more dangerous.”  
“I can replace the Dreadnought as a power source, if necessary,” Aethon offered. “I cannot match its output, but I can keep the lights on and the guns ready. And, you know, oxygen flowing.”  
“What’s up, dudes,” BTS emerged from a nearby tunnel, accompanied by the Councilor’s escort. “Good to see you back in one piece.”  
“Good to see you too, BTS,” Blue replied. “How’re things here?”  
“We took a few attacks, but repelled them all,” he replied. “We lost DefPoint G, but fell back pretty easy to F, and drove off the attackers. They seem to be regrouping here, up top, to go at us all together.”  
“We should-” Blue began her sentence, but Aethon interrupted her with a shrill alarm.  
“Look above!” he cried.  
A slipspace rupture briefly blossomed over their heads, and a frigate obviously of human origin hurtled through the rip, passing into the airspace above High Charity’s holy city. The human ships somewhat resembled very large, blocky rifles, and this one was no different. But smoke rippled from its grey hull, wreathing it in a strange, green-brown hue. A sickening presence passed through Blue’s mind.  
“It’s loaded with Flood!” Aethon yelled. “We need to contain it, or the entire station will be lost!”  
“Like hell we do!” Blue roared, snapping back to the present. “I am not going to lose this place to the damn Flood, not after all this time! BTS, after it! Destroy everything of it that can burn!”  
“Rodger dodger,” the mechanical tiger replied, and jumped into the air, wings spreading from his back, thrusters emerging below them. His engines roared, and he raced after the ship, red light glowing between the nanocomposite plates of his body.  
Blue threw herself into the air after him, energy reaching out in front of her. BTS’s energies mixed with hers, and they shot past the ship, on a crash course with the city.  
“This is an alert to all parties!” she shouted over her connections to the rebels. “A human ship infested with Floodforms has entered the city. I’m sending over its location; get your people out of the crash site and kill anything that moves from it!” She pushed a hand forwards, energy flowing through her. “BTS! Cast a barrier with me!”  
The tiger narrowed his eyes. “Right with you!”  
The frigate crashed into a solid wall of blue energy which rudely popped up in front of it; the energy absorbed was so much BTS’s engines shut off for a moment, and he dropped in altitude. The wall bent, forming around the ship and slowing it down.  
“I’m alright! I’m alright!” the tiger growled, regaining control. “Keep it up!”  
Their combined energies encased the ship; Blue spotted a handful of Pelican dropships escape their containment before it could close.  
“Shoot those down!” She roared to BTS. “And burn them from existence!”  
“You can‘t sustain this barrier by yourself!” the tiger yelled back to her.  
“Yes I can!” she fired back, eyes raging. “Now burn down those dropships unless you want to become Flood food!”  
BTS withdrew his energy and sped after the dropships; the full weight of maintaining the barrier that was holding the frigate in place fell on her, and a painful spasm crossed her chest, making her inhale sharply, air hissing through her teeth.  
The load lessened somewhat; she felt Aethon’s presence in the energy flowing from her. He was contributing to the load, and the frigate ground to a halt in the air, all forwards thrust now countered by the barrier. The engines increased in power, glowing brightly. Blue felt her vision tunneling, but Aethon’s energy surged through the connection, keeping it alive.  
Gunfire sounded off; she looked down. There was a large contingent of Jiralhanae far below, attempting to shoot her.  
“Fools!” she roared to them. “I’m saving your damn lives!”  
The frigate had been completely encased by the barrier by this point, energy wrapped tightly around it.  
_One ship down,_ BTS reported. _Flood burnt up when it exploded. And, and...that’s a second one gone.  
Blue, we can’t hold this frigate here forever,_ Aethon’s strained voice reached her. _We need to destroy it here, or the Flood will spill all over the city._  
Blue reached her mind out, grimacing. _I can try to remotely hack the ship and vent the reactor plasma throughout the interior. Aethon, keep up the barrier!_  
It wasn’t clear where the line was drawn between hacking and telepathy. Aethon and BTS had firewalls and such, but she could go right through them because telepathy applied to consciousness, not brains. Telepathic barriers were different than computer software. Her telepathy could still infiltrate computer networks, but then she was just as vulnerable to antivirus measures as any other hacker was.  
The shielding around the ship darkened, along with the edges of her vision. Aethon was giving it his all to hold the frigate in place.  
_Please do this quickly,_ Aethon asked quietly. _Chances are, if you vent the plasma out of the reactors, it will cause them to overload. We’ll need a lot of energy to contain the explosion if that happens.  
I’m trying, _the draconic growled. _I have plenty of energy left._  
Her energy surged into the reactors, ripping the magnetic containment fields away from the fusion cells. Plasma matter spat from the cells, vaporizing everything it touched, blossoming into a larger and larger mass. It eagerly took over any empty space inside the ship, and Flood matter sizzled into slag along with everything else inside the ship.  
_It’s going to explode. I don’t know if it’ll be the reactors or something else, but it’s going to blow._  
She tightened her grip around the ship, bracing for the impact. It didn’t come immediately.  
The unstable mass detonated, fire ripping through the ship, through the hull, burning everything in its path to nothingness. The force slammed against the barrier, dark blue lighting up.  
She screamed in pain, feeling like someone was ripping off pieces of her armored skin. The barrier strained, but she pushed back, pouring more power into them, fighting off the agony that was splintering through her body.  
_Focus! Breathe! You have to do this!_  
Aethon pushed with her, valiantly. The barrier absorbed the massive impact, blue color becoming lighter and lighter. It would break if it got too light.  
And then, all her strength left her. Her wings went limp, and she plummeted like a stone. The energy was drained from her.  
_No!_ Fire was still tearing through the ship; if the shields broke, it would rain down flaming death on the city, possibly with Flood forms still intact. She reached for the fireball, moving farther and farther away as she fell, pouring the last of her energy into it. Her body was burning numbly.  
She hit the ground with a sickening crack, pain spiking down her back. She screamed again, momentarily blacking out. The impact had destroyed what was left of her energy shields, and she didn’t have enough energy left to recharge them.  
There were footsteps to her left. She turned her head in time to receive a Jiralhanae’s foot right to her face, hitting her so hard she flipped over. She caught herself, trying to stand, but another kick sent her sprawling onto her back again. Her limbs were too weak to support her own weight.  
She was surrounded on all sides by Jiralhanae. The one who’d kicked her, looking to be the leader of the group, put his foot on her chest, pushing her against the ground.  
He aimed his gun at her head. “Any last words, creature?” he asked, sneering.  
“Yeah,” she replied weakly, blinking. “Look up.”  
The barrier around the human frigate had been slowly disintegrating under the massive weight once Blue had disconnect from them, Aethon’s output unable to support them anymore. The gathered crowd looked up just in time to see one of the larger chunks of the ship’s broken, twisted, melted hull come crashing down on top of them.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Blue? Blue!  
Blue!  
She has fallen!  
The Flood were aboard that ship!  
Scans are clean; it has been cleansed.  
She has saved the Sacred City from the parasite!_  
‘Ayanamee slammed his fist onto the control model of his ship. “Blue! Answer me, damn you!”  
“Shipmaster!” one of the Sangheili crew called. “The Dreadnought is disengaging from the city!”  
The lights of the city, visible through the windows of the docked frigate, flickered and went out.  
“We’re dark!” someone cried. “A thousand curses on this betrayal!”  
“Without the Dreadnought, the station won’t produce any more oxygen!” another hissed. “The citizens are doomed!”  
“Patch me into every Sangheili-controlled ship in this damn galaxy,” ‘Ayanamee ordered. “High Charity is under attack.”  
“Is it a good idea to call everyone here?” his order was questioned.  
“Do it, damn you!” ‘Ayanamee roared. “Send the SOS. I’m going out there.”  
“Shipmaster!” ‘Refumee stepped forth. “You are needed at this command; Without Blue, you are all that holds this operation together.”  
That made ‘Ayanamee pause. “She may be alive yet.”  
“No one could survive a fall of that height, and avoid crushing under the wreckage as well,” ‘Refumee replied. He shook his head solemnly. “I am sorry.”  
“That creature is not like us,” ‘Ayanamee hissed, pointing towards the city. “I will not believe she is dead until I see her body myself.”  
“We’ve got lights!” someone yelled. “Something is powering the city!”  
‘Ayanamee’s head shot up. “Something? Or someone?”  
“Hello there,” Aethon’s tired voice sounded over the intercom. “Is everything working?”  
“Her ship is powering the city’s life support!” ‘Refumee was aghast.  
“I seem to have connected in well enough,” the voice continued fretfully, “but this is all quite confusing…” his voice was shaking with distress.  
_Jiralhanae are retreating,_ one of the Councilors at DefPoint A alerted them. _Their Kig-Yar have turned on them.  
We’ve cleared them from DefPoint C,_ another relaid. _DefPoint B has been reclaimed as well.  
DefPoint H needs reinforcements.  
This is ‘Yantree from DefPoint D. We’re sending help to you, H._  
“We need people up top, if you can spare them,” ‘Refumee was speaking to the Councilors over his transmitter. “Search-and-rescue. Yes, we think there may still be a chance she’s alive. Be prepared to fight; there are a lot of Brutes up there.”  
_Sirsir have devices._ The Unggoy, with the help of some Sangheili and Mgalekgolo, had invaded the Armory Forges and secured about half of the area. _More Unggoy come to get shields, then help._  
“There is a single Flood breach near my position,” Aethon reported. “One of the Pelicans got down and scattered its forms before BTS could burn them out. He’s trying to round them up and destroy them now. I would suggest avoiding the districts closest to the center of the city.”  
“Sirsir, get your people to the DefPoints as soon as possible,” ‘Ayanamee ordered. “We’re going to drive these Jiralhanae scum to the surface.”  
“Hey!” Aethon yelled. “Could you not? We’re trying to save the city, here!”  
“Huh?” everyone looked up at the intercom, confused.  
“Sorry,” the ship apologized. “Some AI is trying to hack into my systems. For goodness sakes! For a non-energetic being, she’s sure good at breaking my firewalls…and I’m too tired to block her out completely.”  
“Will you be alright?” ‘Ayanamee was concerned.  
“Oh, I’ll be fine,” Aethon replied, though he sounded like he clearly didn’t believe his own words. “It’s just, just like an irritable horsefly is buzzing around my head.”  
“Horsefly?” ‘Ayanamee had no idea what that was, but it sounded awful.  
“Carry on,” Aethon muttered sleepily. “Please, you have to let me take care of this station. I can’t let these people die.” His connection dropped off.  
“We are idle, sitting around this docked ship,” ‘Refumee declared. “I would be glad to take a contingent of my forces ashore, and help with the fighting.”  
“You will be recognized,” ‘Ayanamee warned. “That’s why we have kept you here so far.”  
“I carry the mark of a friend,” ‘Refumee said, gesturing to the shielding device attached to his right shoulder. “They will not shoot at me once they see this.”  
“But what does it mean for us, if Blue has befriended a heretic?” ‘Ayanamee questioned. “Does that not make her one as well?”  
“We were the ones who were correct, not you,” ‘Refumee reminded him a bit harshly. “Heretic or not, I still care about the survival of my own species.”  
“Go ahead, then,” ‘Ayanamee gave permission. “If you get killed, it’s not my fault.”  
‘Refumee inclined his head gratefully. “Thank you, Shipmaster.”  
‘Ayanamee turned his attention back to the transmissions from the ships fighting around High Charity.  
_We must go on…_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	17. 1.16: Trust in the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really long, sorry. There wasn't any good place in the middle to split it up.
> 
> I'm going back to college real soon, so my posting is going to become irregular and less common. But never fear, I will continue posting here and in my Shadow of the Colossus project (which you should totally go check out, shameless plug).

1.16:

There was the sound of gunfire, and footsteps. People were running, running away.  
BTS landing on the twisted chunk of In Amber Clad. His claws glowed, and he sliced them into the hull, digging until he got through the metal. He was soon joined by a large group of Sangheili, Unggoy, Mgalekgolo, and Kig-Yar, who dropped through the hole he’d carved in the hull, searching through the wreckage.  
“Search everywhere!” he ordered, ears flat against his head. “If she’s still alive, we need to get to her before her energy runs out!”  
 _She can’t be gone...she can’t be gone...damnit, I’m not ready to go on without her!_  
“Heat signature!” one of the Kig-Yar yelled. “Beneath the wreckage!”  
A snake-glass membrane side over the tiger’s eyes; he saw the red smudge on the radar, but it was too blurry to tell what it was. “Low for body temp...what if it’s Flood? I can’t sense them like Blue and Aethon can.”  
“That fireball should have killed everything aboard this ship,” one of the Councilors said. “Either way, we must proceed with caution.”  
BTS mustered the last of his waning strength to cut deeper through the wreckage. He stopped just before slicing the last layer of armored hull, carefully peeling back the metal. His jaws were cracked, flamethrower nozzle lifted. If anything disgusting jumped at him, he would fry it from existence.  
Light glinted off silver metal.  
“It’s her!” he yelled back up. “Clear me a path out!”  
The tiger tore back more strips of the hull, revealing the broken body. She was curled up on her side, head hidden under one arm. One of her wings, black membrane torn and silver fingers snapped, was partially covering her form. BTS dug his paws under her body and pulled her from the wreckage; he cradled the small, limp form in his arms, eyes squeezed shut. He reached out, searching desperately for her mind, her consciousness, his own energy flowing into her, hoping to find some spark of herself left to power.  
There were tiny threads glowing inside of her, running through and out of her body. One was connected to the Councilor, others to their company. The rest scattered away, to countless destinations.  
He looked up, exhaling. “By some miracle. She lives.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Someone was carrying her in their arms.  
DefPoint A had been transformed into a makeshift infirmary (though any respectable doctor would have considered the behavior of the patients downright offensive). BTS was sleeping near one of the beds, having dropped like a stone once they’d arrived, proclaiming he needed about a thousand years’ worth of rest to recharge his energy cells, heavily drained by the fight.  
There were Unggoy needing medical care, for practically the first time ever. The shielding devices had prevented them from being outright killed (which was what usually happened), and blows that used to be fatal caused survivable injury instead.   
“Saving grace for us,” one small alien coughed, a member of ‘Refumee’s crew. “People shot at us when they recognized us. Little backup shields saved my ass!”   
The other Unggoy sitting next to his infirmary bed nodded knowingly. “And the devices, they proved us to be friends, not enemies! Others were hard to convince, but where else could we have gotten little shields?” He shrugged. “Can’t get working shields from dead bodies. Bodies dead because the shields were drained. Useless.”  
The DefPoint that they’d joined with agreed not to shoot them, but were currently holding the three hundred-something-odd as “prisoners”. The extremely compliant and friendly behavior of said “prisoners” was only more convincing.  
The Jiralhanae had fled High Charity, chased out by the Sangheili that flooded the streets. They joined the space battle that still raged outside, then turned tail from that as well. The Dreadnought jumped into slipspace, and many of them followed. Others were left behind, picking up the San’Shyuum and Jiralhanae that continued to flee the city. Then, they too, vanished.  
“Shipmaster,” one of ‘Ayanamee’s crew reported respectfully, “High Charity and her airspace are secure. We have done it.”  
“I must congratulate you, my brothers,” the Shipmaster replied, inclining his head. “The heavens must have been watching over us, to see us succeed against these odds.” He typed a few commands into his control console. “Now, you must excuse me. I will be taking a brief visit to shore.”  
He went immediately to the makeshift infirmary, knowing his time off would be extremely short. There was a large contingent of ships outside, clamoring to know why they were called to save High Charity when the capital city seemed just fine, at the moment. Either way, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.  
He had to push his way through the crowd that had gathered around the bed of the draconic. She didn’t turn her head when he finally made it to the front, but her eyes moved to him.  
“Shipmaster,” she greeted him, voice quiet and raspy. “Good to see you in one piece.”  
“Blue,” he inclined his head. “I have heard of your outstanding bravery on our part.”  
“It was the best I could do,” she replied. “I am blessed to still be alive.”  
“How?” he asked. “How did you survive such an experience?”  
“I shouldn’t have,” she replied. “But...I was sustained. The transmitters...when I melded them all together, I must’ve accidentally integrated them further into my mind that I’d wished. Your energies, your lives, sustained me. Your strength, your determination, became mine.” She blinked tiredly. “You, all of you, saved my life.”  
“As you have saved ours,” ‘Ayanamee replied solemnly. “If that ship had landed, the Flood would have overrun this holy city, and taken any who remained with it.”  
“Have faith,” Blue reprimanded him. “The defense points may have held.”  
He shook his head. “You have seen the power of that parasite. We would have fallen.”  
The draconic sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I am weak...it takes all of my strength just to turn my head. But we are far from done with this fight.”  
“I sent out a distress call to all of our fleets,” ‘Ayanamee told her. “Those who could spare themselves rallied here to the defense of this city, but the Dreadnought fled by the time they arrived.”  
“Why did you do that?” Blue looked cross. “It’s going to be difficult enough to keep whatever remains of High Charity’s defense fleet together. Now you’ve involved outside ships as well?”  
“I thought it for the best,” he replied, a bit angrily. “The Jiralhanae betrayed the Covenant; we were under attack!”  
Blue shook her head. “I have decided this is not the Covenant any more. The Covenant left with the Prophet of Truth, and all his folly and lies. The Prophet of Mercy lies dead, does he not?”  
“He does,” one of the Councilors said. “How did you know?”  
She shut her eyes. “The Prophet of Truth’s mind is dark and turmoiled. His intentions may have been good, may have been bad, but he knew this one thing: he could not share his rule over the galaxy with anyone.”  
“What do you mean by this?” the Councilor asked.  
“Defeat the humans, rule the galaxy,” Blue told him. “It seemed simple. But things are more complicated than this. You yourselves have questioned why the humans were never integrated into the Covenant, have you not? They have proven their prowess over and over.”  
It was true; she knew they thought that. “The answer lies aboard that Dreadnought; if we are to know the truth, then we must get it back in one piece. Truth means to rule this galaxy under his absolute power, one way or another. Even if it means killing us all.”  
“The Dreadnought has fled,” ‘Ayanamee repeated. “We do not know to where.”  
“I know,” Aethon’s voice suddenly echoed around the room, making everyone jump.  
“It has gone to Earth,” the ship continued. “There’s a portal to something called the Ark there. Truth means to travel through the portal to the Ark.”  
“What is the Ark?” ‘Ayanamee pressed.  
“I’m not entirely sure, but I believe all the Halos can be remotely activated from there,” Aethon told him.  
That was met with a confusing bundle of responses, differing greatly between those who knew the truth about the Halos and those who didn’t.  
“He means to start the Great Journey!” someone exclaimed. “But if we are no longer part of the Covenant...we will be left behind!”  
Blue sensed an impending riot, but she wasn’t strong enough to yell and quell the mob. ‘Ayanamee was ready, however; he saw the brief panic in her eyes.  
“Quiet, you rabble!” he ordered loudly. “Listen to what she has to say. She can explain it all to you.”  
“If Truth activates Halo, nobody is going on the Great Journey,” Blue said flatly, eyes dim. “The Halos, the Great Journey...they are not what the Prophets taught you.”  
“What do you mean?” the crowd asked, pressingly.  
The draconic shut her eyes. “I’m too weak right now. I will speak to you once I have more strength, and I will speak to everyone at once. In the meantime, Shipmaster ‘Ayanamee, send the recordings of the Jiralhanae interrogation, of the Holy Oracle, to our new arrivals. Aethon will compile all my recordings together afterwards, and I will show them to these people. They have the right to know the truth.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue was still too weak to stand, but she’d regained enough strength to sit up and hold a decent conversation within a half hour, and she did not want to wait any longer.  
BTS was awake by then as well, though still wishing he was asleep. Blue waved him up, so he could help her. He grumbled, standing and putting his front paws up on her bed.  
“We must go to where everyone can hear us,” she said. “Help me down, BTS.”  
“I gotchu,” he promised. She threw one arm over his head, bracing against his neck. She swung her legs over the side and dropped down, joints immediately collapsing. She grabbed the side of the bed with her free hand, while BTS braced her from the other side.  
“Careful, champ,” he muttered. “Don’t want you breaking any more limbs.”  
Her broken wing was in a splint, secured tightly to her back so the nanocomposite rods remained aligned until they healed.  
The tiger slowly dropped down, Blue sliding over his back so she was seated on the metal tiger like he was a strange, metal horse.  
“You good up there?” he asked, flicking his ears.  
“Yes,” she replied. “Sitting up on my own is still a bit...tiring, though.”  
“It’s a short walk,” he promised, and set off at a gentle trot. The large contingent of people that had been standing around, watching them, followed suit.  
They fell in around her, like an escort. More of them were toting the shielding devices on their armor. The Unggoy at the Armory Forges had been hard at work, Aethon charging the devices as they build them.  
Also… _Aethon, how’s your headache?  
Not as bad anymore. I had to fabricate myself a crude flash-drive to put her in, though. She was going to hack into High Charity’s systems if I didn’t separate her from the network. She’s quite good at escaping containment. I feel bad for her, though. She’s been left behind.  
Who is she? You must know something, because you gave her a gender.  
Her name is Cortana. She came here with the one the Covenant call the ‘Demon’. She doesn’t seem like she trusts me, but she did tell me about the Ark. That’s how I knew.  
Does she still have communication with the humans?  
Not since I’ve shoved her in a flash drive.  
Hmm. We’ll see how this works out. Be nice to her._  
After a bit more walking, they arrived at their destination, a platform with a camera system rigged and ready. ‘Ayanamee was there, along with his bodyguards and crew.  
She nodded to him as they came. “How are things?”  
“Not bad,” he replied. “I hope you know what you are doing. But then again, I have said that before, and you have proved your worth, so I should be silent.”  
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You did kind of volunteer me for this. While I was bed-ridden and unable to argue with you.”  
He stared at her stoutly. “You are more than capable of quelling this mob.”  
The draconic rolled her eyes. “I talked with the Councilors a lot before this,” she told him. “They’re still upset, but they’re coming to terms with what’s going on, and they’re willing to lead us forward. Because of Truth’s outright betrayal, it makes the lies easier to accept.”  
“I am glad to hear of this success,” he replied.  
“Would you join me?” she asked. “You had just as much a part of this as I did.”  
‘Ayanamee huffed. “A part of the saving, and the subterfuge. I do not know if I want that branded to my name.”  
“It’s unavoidable,” Blue replied shortly. “You must take responsibility for what you have done, otherwise our situation will just become more confusing.”  
He looked away. “I guess I must.”  
BTS hopped up onto the stage, where somebody had placed a chair for Blue to sit in. She gratefully switched over, resting her back against the chair.   
BTS took a protective seat on her right. “Anything hurting?”  
She shook her head. “I’m still weak, but I feel alright.”  
‘Ayanamee hadn’t come alone, his bodyguards and close followers crowding onto the stage with him. They gathered to Blue’s left.  
“Patch me into the fleet,” she ordered. “Everyone that’s currently around High Charity. Make sure all the internal broadcasts are online as well.”   
The denizens of the city (those who’d remained, either refusing to flee with the Jiralhanae, taking the side against them, or those who simply had no idea what was going on) had been instructed to gather in a number of places. The live crowd Blue was toting consisted of almost entirely citizens, her allied forces that had fought against the Jiralhanae surrounding the edges. They’d been dispersed strategically, in case riots broke out.  
“Patched in,” the Unggoy under the camera replied. “Can speak now.”  
Blue inhaled deeply. _You got this._  
She lifted her head, facing the camera. “Greetings, citizens of High Charity, fleets once of the Covenant. My name is Blue, daughter of Arlia of the Farsight Clan, Ascendant warrior of the long-forgotten Lupa. You may have heard of me in recent times. I am here to try and explain to you the horrors that have been uncovered within these past few days, which I have been pivotal to preventing, or at least lessening the damages.”  
“As you know, the High Prophets of the Covenant have declared the Sangheili as defunct, and sought to wipe them from command, and existence,” she began. “I came to this holy city with the intention of serving the Covenant as a humble warrior, but as soon as I set foot on this ground I felt a...terrible current on the air. I thought it above my place at first to investigate, but as an accomplished telepathic, gathering information is all too easy. Learned of this truth, I was horrified. The Covenant was not what I thought it was.”  
She paused for a breath, mind a bit frantic. “I had come here to serve. But now I am wrought with concern, seeing this internal divide open before me, within a nation I once thought so united. A nation that was built on a lie.”  
She paused again. “I knew I had to act. You see, I believe it is my moral duty as an Ascendant, someone blessed with great and terrible power, to give equal respect to all life, be that the life of the smallest creature to the largest. I could not let this genocide pass. I feared the results would be devastating beyond just the loss of life. The water ripples far from the point of impact.”  
She lifted her head, despite her weakness. “You hear me mention myself as an Ascendant; let me explain to you what that means, and how I believe it connects me to you. Maybe my words can undo the Prophet’s twisted truth.”  
She folded her hands in her lap as an effort to keep them from shaking. “Among my people, there have walked beings similar to myself, in possession of great power and ability. We are called Ascendants, transcended members of the Lupine race who gave their lives in defense of others. Or, were willing to give their lives, rather, but by the grace of gods or nature, did not.”   
Another breath. Another truth, another lie. “I Ascended when I saved a young planet, home of a new civilization, from destruction by a much larger, more advanced spacefaring race. But I did not only save the planet; I saved the attackers as well. Rather than simply blow them from the sky, as I could’ve easily done, I sent them away, far away, to where they’d never find us again, but remain safe. It was only when I considered the lives of my enemies as equal to those of my allies that I found the strength to do so. I looked to them, and I saw not enemies, but mothers, fathers, children, teachers, families, elders, and did not want the responsibility of their deaths on my shoulders. Nor did I want the planet below me to die, so I had but one choice: to invoke my own death in the defense of others. The expenditure of energy the feat took should’ve killed me, but it did not.”  
She leaned forwards, voice rising. “I made the ultimate sacrifice so millions, billions of lives could be saved. And when I did, I looked upon the gods, and they said to me, “Blue, your work is not done yet; there is more you must do”. And I bowed to them and accepted my fate, and came back to this world as an Ascendant, blessed with the powers of the gods!”   
She drew back, head high. “And yet, I am fettered.” She lifted her hands, crossing her wrists. The rings flickered unsteadily into existence, like faulty light bulbs. “I chose to have my powers restrained so my people could live peacefully with the Forerunners. I gave my powers willingly so no blood would have to be spilled. Because this is what it means to put others before yourself.”  
She shook her head mournfully. “You see, when I speak of your Ascendance, and you speak of your Great Journey, I believe we speak of the same concept. You can believe the Forerunners Ascended to godhood long ago; you can believe I Ascended before them. Our Ascensions are linked by acts of extreme, selfless sacrifice for the greater good of another.”  
“I know how the Forerunners Ascended. I wasn’t present when they did it, but I know what they did.” She had to pause again, turning her head away, trying not to panic as her mind desperately tried to piece words together. BTS nudged her shoulder with his nose encouragingly.  
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I am still weak from defending this city from the Flood and the treacherous Jiralhanae.” She rested her elbows on the arms of the chair, tented fingers pressed against her forehead. “As I was saying...The Forerunners activated Halo and Ascended, as you believe. However, as some of you have learned, the situation is not as simple as it seems.”  
The guards, ringed around the civilians, gripped their weapons nervously.  
“When the Forerunners activated Halo, they were committing the ultimate act of selfless sacrifice, willing to end their reign in the galaxy in order to save life as a whole from the most terrible of threats. At this point in time, the Flood was rampant, across planets, fleets, cities, able to control much more than it currently does. It was set to take over the entire galaxy, to incorporate everything into its deathly, seething mass. There was only one way to contain it; to starve it from what it fed on.”  
“Halo, when activated, obliterates all sentient life within a massive radius, removing the substance upon which the Flood feeds. Everything in its path was wiped out. They killed everything so our lives may continue today.”   
She lifted her head, squaring up with the camera, eyes glowing. “The Forerunners died so we could live! And how do we repay them? By warring and ravaging and fighting among ourselves? With hatred and discrimination? We shall not tarry their most ultimate of sacrifices by acting in such a shameful fashion! Do you know what that behavior leads to? Assured destruction!”   
She could feel the mood changing, from confusion to anger, and now to guilt and shame. She ground her teeth together aggressively. “The Forerunners wanted us, all of us, to live.” She lifted a hand, claws clenched together. “They saw a great future where the galaxy was full of life and energy, reaching beyond even their ancient reaches, free from the plague that is the Flood. And they knew no one species could reach it alone! They knew greater strength lay in unity.”  
She bared her teeth. “We are a shame on their name when we fight amongst ourselves like barbarians. We are in no shape, nor are we worthy at this point, to be allowed on the Great Journey. The High Prophet of Truth is blind to this. If Halo is activated by the Prophet, we will be destroyed, not uplifted. We are making no selfless sacrifice by activating Halo; we are doing it out of greed and want of power.” She hit her fist against the arm of her chair. “The Prophet is doing it out of greed and want of power. He will be the death of us all if he is not stopped.”  
She shut her jaws, claws gripping the arms of her chair so hard they carved furrows in the material. The crowd around her was in chaos. The gathered Unggoy had collapsed into a big, sobbing pile, feverishly praying for redemption. The Kig-Yar seethed in squabbling groups, more worried about their imminent destruction by a galactic superweapon than the rage of their gods. The Sangheili, in general, were a giant, squabbling mess, crying out in anger.  
“Heresy!” someone yelled.  
Blue slammed her fist against the arm of her chair, leaning forwards. “Would you like to hear it from another? Because I can provide.”  
BTS stood up, walking in front of her. A hologram projected out of his back, turning into a screen. The footage of Blue speaking to Guilty Spark in the gas mine began to play, audio amplified so everyone could hear.  
“Oh dear,” the filmed Spark said, responding to one of the Zealots who’d spoke in the video. “You are quite determined. Well, I’m very sorry to say it, but she is correct. The Halo array was designed by the Forerunners as their last weapon against the Flood, to starve it from existence by killing what it feasted upon. Activation of the array will destroy all sentient life within their radii.”  
One of the Unggoy in the front of the crowd frowned mightily as it played, sniffing back tears as the Oracle explained to the camera what the Halos were actually for.  
BTS shut off the video.  
Blue leaned back against the chair. “I had no idea the Covenant was attempting to fire the array. I only found out after arriving here, while trying to decipher what terrible event was fated to happen. And so my purpose here became more convoluted.” She tapped her fingers on the chair, feeling the ruts, thinking of her next words. “If the Flood was to once again become metaphysical, firing the array might put us on the path to the Great Journey, but only if we were saving life as we destroyed it, as the Forerunners did,” she reasoned. “Seeing that is far beyond our capabilities, and that the Flood is currently nowhere near metaphysical, a firing would be completely unnecessary. As of now, it is not our way to the Great Journey.”  
She lifted her hand. “We have two goals then, that we must consider. First, we must stop the High Prophet of Truth from activating Halo, and bringing all life to a sudden end. And second, we must wipe the pestilence of the Flood from this galaxy, saving all life from its clutches. While the Flood exists, we are all in danger, and the Forerunners have yet to be avenged. Once the Flood is gone from this world, they can rest in peace, their eternal enemy finally destroyed.”  
“But what of the Great Journey?” someone cried. “Is it all for naught?”  
Icy nerves trickled down her back. “It is never all for naught!” she declared, slamming her hand against the chair arm again. “With every breath, every step we take, every decision we make, we are either walking the Great Journey or we are not. While making the ultimate sacrifice, as I did, is one way to walk the sacred path, there are others.” She pointed into the crowd. “Every day, making tiny choices to benefit others before yourself, to aid and help the worse-off, to be kind to those who are hurt, these are all personal sacrifices. And over time, they build up, until one has lived a life of humility and greatness, forwarding themselves and the community. And when they pass into the Beyond, as we all must do one day, they Ascend and join the gods in the high-above. You have seen how I walk among you, with kindness and humility. I am walking the Great Journey as we speak, just as you are, for a second time during my second life as an Ascendant.”  
She looked to BTS. _Help me stand._  
He grumbled at her tenacity, but didn’t protest. He stood, offering his broad shoulders as a brace. She put her right hand on his back and leaned on him, bracing her tail against the ground behind her. Her legs protested, shaking, and she ground her teeth together.  
A hand closed around her upper arm; she looked over. It was ‘Ayanamee, supporting her from the other side.  
She nodded to him. _Thank you._  
Between him and BTS, she could get her feet beneath her. She stepped away from the chair.  
“I am willing to dedicate my life to helping all of you,” she said to the camera, neck arched so she could still look at the lense from near to the level she’d been at while seated. “Be that in your wars, as long as they are just, so be it. Be that against the Flood, so be it. Be that to lead you, so be it. Be that to be commanded by you, so be it. I am a servant of leaders and a leader of servants. If you do not want to follow me, I understand. You will not be barred from leaving this place; I just ask that you leave peacefully. But those of you who want to stay, who believe my words, or have hope, you are welcome. We have much to do, so I hope you will all stay. The fate of the galaxy lies in our hands.”  
She bowed her head, nose to the ground, indicating that her speech was done.  
The Unggoy erupted into cheers, jumping on top of each other, clasping hands in praise to their gods, thanking them for their forgiveness. The Kig-Yar looked cautious, but those directly under Blue’s matriarchy puffed out their chests proudly and chastised their troublesome neighbors. The Sangheili smoldered quietly, watching her with narrow, angry eyes.  
She eased herself back into her seat, feeling an uncomfortable rush in her ears.   
“That was dumb,” BTS muttered. “What if you had fallen on your face, huh? Some grand creature you are.”  
“Hush,” Blue reprimanded him. “I need them to see that I am still strong.”  
“What shall we do now, Ascendant?” ‘Ayanamee asked, not skipping a beat. “High Charity is ours again.”  
“We need to haul this broken government back together,” she grumbled. “That’s going to be a show, for sure. And then we need to stop Truth...unless the humans get to him first. Or someone else. I know of more than a few people who’re out for his blood.”  
“I will not rest until that treacherous worm has been slain,” ‘Ayanamee vowed. “He has committed an unforgivable act against my people.”  
“Speaking of your people,” Blue said, “you should probably get back on the communications. I want all the ships we have either acknowledging their will to stay with us, or announcing their imminent leave. Ask them where they mean to go, but if they won’t talk, don’t push them. Let them go in peace.”  
‘Ayanamee nodded. “I will do so, Ascendant. You can trust in me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	18. 1.17: The Trouble with Humans

1.17:

As soon as Blue had the strength, she undid the tangled web of mental communications, reestablishing one-on-one lines with all of the transmitters. While the tangle had saved her life, it could have dire consequences if left alone, especially in its unstable, accidental form.   
Her Kig-Yar brood wheeled her around everywhere she needed to go; they rigged wheels to her chair so she didn’t have to ride BTS everywhere like a strange horse. They clamoured over the honor of pushing her around, until she ordered them to take turns.  
More of the mysteries of the now-dubbed “Great Battle for High Charity” unfolded before her, in the aftermath; her network of new allies told her everything.   
“Yes, the Kig-Yar mostly allied with the Jiralhanae,” the Kig-Yar Ree told her. “But then the Brood Mother defected and sided with the Sangheili!” He shrugged. “We don’t know why. But then the Jiralhanae killed her, and killed her good. Probably thinking that if they didn’t, she’d spread dissent and get the entire species to revolt. But then…” he grinned toothily, “many of the matriarchs turned against the Brood Mother’s killers. Entire squadrons of Kig-Yar and T’vaoans turned on their commanders!”  
Many of the breed were slaughtered for their actions, but a good portion joined up with the DefPoint forces and were quickly accepted.  
Once the fighting had started, practically all the Unggoy sided with the Sangheili, encouraged by Blue’s words to them and the influence of those closest to her. They’d flooded into the Armory Forges, absolutely overwhelming whoever was down there, and began pumping out shielding devices for themselves, which Aethon charged. Their actions gained momentum rapidly, and their presence became formidable in the conflict.  
All the Jiralhanae were gone; the vast majority of San’Shyuum had fled with them, not out of allegiance but pure confusion and fear for their lives. The few who did not were less willing to go, so there were still a couple thousand around. Almost none of them were High Councilors, who had fled High Charity quickly, fearing the wrath of the not-dead Sangheili.  
She hadn’t accounted for the Mgalekgolo, but she’d seen quite a few around, so it looked like they were friendly to her cause. She had thought all the Yanme’e fled with the Jiralhanae, but there were rumors that there was a subordinate Hive Queen somewhere, along with her hive, that had missed the Jiralhanae ships out and now were completely willing to serve the Sangheili. And the Huragok, well, she hadn’t seen one yet, but she knew they were around. They didn’t seem to care about the situation or who their masters were, as long as they had things to fix.  
And then there were the Sangheili themselves. They were proving to be exceedingly difficult, especially those aboard the ships, who had not personally witnessed any of Blue’s skills or work, and had not seen her save High Charity from the Flood. Those who had were much more civil, feeling indebted to the individual who had saved their holy city. But those who had not were hotly debating her, only her firm hold on the station and its forces keeping them from starting a conflict.  
She shut the door behind her, sitting down in Aethon’s cabin. Tiredly, she pulled up the incoming call from Ambassador Wukong.  
“So it worked?” the Gehirnian asked, frowning mightily.  
She nodded. “Yep.”  
“You have full control over the station?” he asked.  
She shrugged. “Somewhat. I managed to tell them about the Halos without causing a riot.”  
“They are unstable,” the ambassador grumbled. “They will turn on you, Blue, mark my words. It would do you best to get out while you can, and let them cave on themselves.”  
“I will not!” she protested angrily, bolting upright. She grabbed the edges of the consol, looming angrily over the hologram. “I am the only source of guidance for these people now! With their religion destroyed, they need something to follow!”  
“And?” Wukong asked. “They are not your people. They are not your kin. They do not owe you anything.”  
“Does that even matter?” the draconic yelled. “They’re people! I don’t care whose, mine or otherwise!” she slammed her fist on the console. “I told them that I believe in respecting all life, no matter its form. I will not go back on my words to them.”  
“You have told them nothing but lies,” Wukong snarled. “Your background, your so-called-lost people, your ‘Ascension’ and their ‘Great Journey’. Everything of it, you made up, because you had to in order to infiltrate and do your job. Which you have done poorly, mind you! This mission was supposed to be the end of the Covenant, which you have roundly prevented!”  
“They are NOT the Covenant!” Blue roared. “The Covenant left and will die with the High Prophet of Truth!”  
“Your people are not gone, no matter how many lies you tell about them!” Wukong exclaimed. “But it seems that even you are starting to believe your own false backstory.” He typed onto his datapad. “I regret doing this, but you won’t listen to reason. So I am giving you an official order.” He lowered the pad. “You are to leave this alien station and return to the Alliance at once. You will be removed from your operative position, and if you cooperate, maybe you won’t be court-martialed.” He glared angrily at her. “Do I make myself clear?”  
She exhaled slowly, still gripping the console. “Very,” she growled quietly, standing up slowly. “You’re removing my Alliance ranking. I am no longer your operative.” Her eyes flared brightly. “Don’t try to contact me again, Wukong. Don’t try to find us. We’re through.” She put her finger to the end-call icon.  
“We still have control over you!” Wukong said harshly. “Only Alliance tech can unlock your restraints and let you access your true power. Without us, you will be stunted forever.”  
She bared her teeth. “I’ll find a way to cope.”  
Her finger depressed the button, and the hologram vanished.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue was in the High Council chamber, with the slightly-reduced Sangheili Councilors and very small number of very nervous San’Shyuum Councilors. The Sangheili Honor Guard had been swiftly reestablished from those who were left, lines of red-orange armored figures standing silent watch over the Council. Though she doubted their presence reassured the San’Shyuum that remained.  
They needed to hash a new government from the ruins - and Blue had some criteria she needed to fill. She had a role she was expected to play, from what she could glean from the minds of those around her. The Unggoy already viewed her as their new religious leader, and it seemed that the others who would remain pious had similar thoughts. So it would be. She would never consider her preachings as religious, rather than simply moral, but it seemed she would need to develop a system for them. They were waiting for her move. If she couldn’t create something they could believe it, they would never trust her.   
“You need to establish yourself as a point of control in the government,” ‘Ayanamee had said. “You must have influence over them. They will listen to a strong, confident leader.”  
There would be more to do - a lot needed reformation - but the progress for the day ended with the establishment of their new heads-of-government in a hasty, emergency fashion. Had it not been for the imminent doom of Truth activating Halo (and the purpose of vengeance), she doubted the Councilors would’ve been as willing to cooperate.  
Blue, for now, would be part of a five-member panel that could override decisions of the High Council in most, but not all, matters, similar to the former power of the Hierarchs. They would be called the Council of Five and would be made of two Sangheili, two San’Shyuum, and a central religious figure, Blue for the time being. This central figure could be any species, not restricted to the two normal ruling ones.   
The High Council elected the other four members of the Five from among themselves, for the sake of time. The two Sangheili elected were both early followers of Blue; they’d been among the first to contact her upon receiving the video footage of the Jiralhanae’s confession. She had no influence in this decision, beyond her own vote.  
The two Sangheili were Councilors of many years; one of them, Kran ‘Mahom, was liberal when compared to the average Sangheili. The other Sangheili of the Five, Dyra ‘Losan, was less so. He was still sympathetic to her cause, but had a more cautionary stance on most issues. The two San’Shyuum had taken the name Councilor, one proclaiming himself the Councilor of Unity, and the other the Councilor of Faith. Both names had been somewhat consequential of their fear that the Sangheili would doubt their dedication to the cause.  
For now, the High Council would have absolute control over everything, until other councils were established and the government system stabilized.  
The Council was squabbling over what to do next - going after Truth was obvious, but they were also worried about the extreme disarray of their fleets. Most of the ships were only sticking around because their Sangheili captains felt allegiance to the Councilors, not to Blue. While ‘Ayanamee’s SOS had helped spread the word of the genocide to the fleets, it had made dealing with them into an all-at-once catastrophe.   
However, they had gotten one thing done successfully: Sesa ‘Refumee and his faction were cleared of their heresy and would be subject to a short bought of community service as a punishment for their troublemaking. In specific, at Blue’s suggestion, they would be running the Armory Forges.  
But there was another problem: all the Huragok had mysteriously vanished. However, the rumor about the friendly Hive Queen had turned out to be true, and the Yanme’e were more than happy to get their engineering jobs back from the former species.  
“And what of this other, splinter faction?” one Sangheili Councilor rumbled. “They have been hailing our ships. I worry we may lose some to them.”  
“The Ascendant has ordered any ships that want to leave to be allowed to go,” his companion replied. “Not that I agree with that decision, but we are in no position to be fighting amongst ourselves.”  
The draconic took her place with the Five so the discussion could continue.  
“We must focus on stopping Truth,” Blue insisted as the debate drew on. “While the Imperial Admiral is also trying to unite us, we cannot be diverted from our task. I say, tell him and whoever he has summoned to come to us, as we make way to follow Truth.”  
“I agree.” She had the support of ‘Mahom; ‘Losan was still on the fence. And the two San’Shyuum were being very agreeable because they were borderline terrified that they’d be straight-up killed at any moment if they became even slightly belligerent.   
“‘Wattinree answers to us, not the other way around,” ‘Mahom continued. “I say bring them here. As long as High Charity stands, this will be our center of command.”  
“I say we call for a vote, if no one else has anything to say on the matter,” ‘Losan said. “We have discussed this too long for the time we have.”  
Blue nodded. “I have no objection.”  
The Council turned to muttering among themselves as they cast their votes. Blue sat back, hoping for a good outcome.  
“And the vote is for refusing summon and calling all fleets to us,” the Councilor of Unity declared. “It is decided.”  
Blue exhaled in relief. They would try to stick together, for now.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“What now?” Blue followed the nervous Unggoy, who gestured for her to follow quickly. She was being called back to the Council, even though it felt like barely any time had passed.  
She’d meant to visit Aethon, but had gotten sidetracked. Many of the ships around High Charity had docked, needing aid and repairs after fighting the Jiralhanae. Problem: the Huragok were gone. Solution: the Yanme’e. Problem: There was only one Hive of them, not nearly enough to fix all the ships in a timely manner. Solution: Well, there wasn’t much of one. They’d be down on their number of usable vessels for a while.  
All the Kig-Yar aboard High Charity that had fought with the Sangheili had gathered; Blue sensed their presence, dubbed it unusual, and decided Aethon could wait.   
The Kig-Yar were without a Brood Mother, and were currently letting all the highest-ranked matriarchs battle it out to see who’d take her place.  
The room went silent when Blue walked in.  
Wick jumped to his feet, pointing. “She’s our matriarch! She can fight for the Brood as well!”  
“That’s ridiculous!” one of the matriarchs snapped. “She’s not one of us!”  
“The Brood Mother recognized her as a matriarch,” Wick bravely replied. “She replaced former Shipmistress Kel after her treachery.”  
“Kel was no residential matriarch,” she growled. “We were above her in rank, as we are above this creature!”  
“Whoa, whoa,” Blue held up her hands. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I was just curious to see what you all were gathering about.”  
“Our own business,” the Kig-Yar snapped. “Nothing of yours.”  
Blue extended a hand. “Why are you so angry? You are among friends.”  
“I deserve the right to rule this brood!” the matriarch growled, “not any of these half-witted feather-dusters!”  
“Hey!” the other matriarchs seemed quite offended. “Shut your rotten mouth!”  
Blue rubbed her eyes. She would have liked to hang around and try to resolve the issue, but the Council was really pressing her (she’d give the Five transmitters that linked them and her together, correctly developed this time around, and they continued to harass her brain with summons), and then the Unggoy had showed up, so she felt she really couldn’t split her time at the moment. She skittered from the room, only able to hope that someone more sympathetic to her cause would become the next Brood Mother.  
She ran her way back to the High Council chamber, cursing how winded she was by the time she got there. The Honor Guard let her in, the floor beyond the doors thronged by the Councilors as they made their way back to their seats.  
Blue jogged down the long hall, jumping over the platform she’d once stood on, delivering her case for servitude to a hostile jury. The Five had set up a long, fancy desk on the other side, seats behind it, facing the Council. The other four of the Five were already there.  
“Sorry, the Kig-Yar were fighting over who gets to be the next Brood Mother,” she apologized. “I wanted to make sure nothing was getting too out of hand.”  
“Let those crude pirates fight,” ‘Losan replied. “They’ve got no more civilized ways of dealing with things.”  
“We need unity, not division at the moment,” Blue told him. “I will not stand for unneeded fighting. Let us call the Council to session.”  
The Councilor of Unity brought the Council to order; the crowd quieted.  
Blue had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on, and as the session developed, she found her suspicions confirmed.  
“Multiple ships have reported summons coming from Installation 05,” the Councilor of Faith reported. “Ships infected with Flood forms are attempting to flee the station.”  
“The Flood must be contained!” ‘Mahom exclaimed. “We must immediately send reinforcements.”  
Faith swiped through his datapad. “Shipmaster Rtas ‘Vadum has rallied the Sangheili forces on and around the ring to defend against the Flood. They are glassing sections of it in an effort to contain the parasite.” He squinted. “He is also interested in pursuing Truth.”  
“It seems to be a benefit to us,” Blue reasoned. “We have similar, if not the same goals. Very few of our ships have expressed a desire to leave us, at least as long as Truth is alive. Shipmaster ‘Vadum will bring us more support.”  
“But what if he does not trust you?” she was challenged by a Sangheili.   
“I will work tirelessly to earn the trust of all who I consider under my protection,” she replied. “If he will not trust me, then perhaps he will trust you. I am not in charge of this establishment; I am just helping to run it. Together, we will run it better, and be a stronger force.”  
“We should summon his fleet here, once the Flood have been contained,” ‘Mahom declared. “Just as we have summoned Imperial Admiral Wattinree to us.”  
“A summons he has yet to acknowledge,” another Councilor muttered darkly.  
“It will be quite a bit of schedule work, to admit all these people at once,” the Councilor of Unit spoke up. “We must immediately consider accommodations. High Charity has been damaged by the betrayal, and many of our buildings are in ruin.”  
“Truth has something I greatly desire,” Blue said. “The Dreadnought which he ripped from the heart of this city will give me access to practically unlimited power, which I can route through these halls and bring this city back to its glory. But I can only do this with that source of energy. Aethon may be able to power the lights, but he cannot sustain what I have envisioned.”  
“You see greatness beyond measure, it is sure,” another Councilor acknowledged. “Together, we will have plenty of ships to overwhelm Truth’s forces and safely secure the Dreadnought.”  
“And not only our forces,” Blue felt the risk behind the subject, but the moment seemed right. “Truth is headed to the human homeworld. The false Prophet is as much of an enemy to them as he is to us. While I am aware of how our relations have transgressed in the past, I think it would be worthy to consider a temporary truce until our common enemy is defeated, seeing that we are going into the heart of human territory itself.”  
“Alliance with the humans? Preposterous!”  
“Those weak, small creatures would be of no help to us!”  
“She speaks reason! Better to fight Truth and Truth alone, instead of both.”  
“The humans are the enemies of us all!”  
“Heretics!”  
“Order!” the Councilor of Unity shrilly demanded such from the Council. “We will argue cases against this proposal in a civil fashion!”  
“Let’s get to that second,” Blue advised. “First, let us get the message out the Installation; we will expect Shipmaster ‘Vadum aboard this base as soon as his business aboard the Installation is done. In the meantime, we will continue to watch out for the Imperial Admiral, whenever he will decide to show up.”  
“Relay the message,” ‘Mahom ordered the Fleet Master. “Everyone shall come to us.”  
As soon as he was done speaking, chaos broke out again.  
“Order!” Unity cried. “I will have order!”  
Blue puffed out her chest, a sharp roar emitting from her jaws. It worked well to silence the room.  
“Thank you,” Unity muttered, most disgraced.  
“The Prophets betrayed us,” the draconic declared strongly. “They sought to see us all killed. They lied to us about Halo. They hid from us the true meaning of the Great Journey. And who was it that told us the humans were bad? These same Prophets. If we are to take their words for what we have seen them to mean, then what can we say of this? They have lied to us over and over, all to assure the gain of their own power. Humanity has been fighting a defensive war against us, one that we initiated because of the Prophets. I would be almost offended that any one of you would continue to take their words at face value.”  
The chamber descended into unsure muttering.   
Blue let that roll for a while, hopefully letting people talk themselves through what they saw as logical. She kept an eye on the minds of the four around her.  
‘Mahom was all for an alliance with the humans; ‘Losan seemed near to grudgingly accepting it out of want for revenge. Unity and Faith seemed torn between tradition and not wanting to get murdered by the Sangheili.  
She turned to Unity. “Should we call for a vote?”  
“Alliance with the humans, or not,” he nodded agreeingly. “I will put this through.”  
Blue fought the urge to cross her fingers.  
The vote took what seemed like forever, only serving to make Blue more jittery. She was so antsy that Aethon contacted her, making sure everything was ok.  
 _Are you alright, Blue?  
I’m really nervous...the Council is voting on whether or not we’re going to extend a temporary alliance to the humans while we try to defeat Truth.  
Oh dear. Good luck with that.  
I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you yet. How is your passenger?  
I’m ashamed of the hackjob of a flash-drive I shoved her in, but otherwise we’re all good. I’d really like to talk to her, but I can’t without risking her getting out and into High Charity’s networks. She’s slippery.  
Keep her secure. She knows everything._  
Unity cleared his throat expectantly. The final few Councilors grudgingly submitted their votes.  
“And it seems we have voted for temporary alliance,” Unity declared.”  
“I demand a recount!” one of the Sangheili angrily jumped up.  
“Take a seat!” ‘Mahom barked. “Are we in favor of a recount?”  
The Councilors quickly submitted their opinion. Unity shook his head.  
“An insufficient portion of Councilors demands recount,” he declared. “Indeed, the vote was close, but the majority have chosen alliance.”  
Blue exhaled quietly, relieved.   
“Preposterous!” the same Councilor that had challenged the vote was up again. “We cannot submit ourselves to such a lowly alliance!”  
“You have made your argument, and we have voted,” Unity replied, summing up all his bravery in the face of the raging Councilor. “Please, have a seat.”  
“This business is only temporary,” ‘Losan reminded them. “If the humans prove to be unsatisfactory allies, then we may return to our ways.”  
Blue ground her teeth together, but remained composed. ‘Mahom, interpreting the noise as an expression of her general frustration with how mired their fledgling government currently was, gave her a sympathetic look.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	19. 1.18: Cortana

1.18

Blue needed to get away for a moment, to compose her thoughts. The Council was still in session, but the Five had let everyone on break, so she had free reign to take care of her own businesses.  
She trotted towards the center of the city, where Aethon was suspended by a mix of his own constructions and pre-existing infrastructure, glowing blue beams of energy spanning between him and his surroundings. The space, once occupied by the much larger Dreadnought, dwarfed the white ship. He looked so strange in the gap, but he sat there peacefully, most of his functions disabled so he could channel more of his power into sustaining the station.  
Blue spread her wings, flying gently over the void. Aethon opened the small hatch that held a ladder leading to the cockpit, allowing Blue to fly up and into the room. She entered the opening and grabbed onto the ladder, wings tucked to her back. She crawled up, emerging into the cabin. Everything seemed normal, except for the near-to three pound flash-drive sitting on the floor, sitting on the floor where Aethon had ejected it from his control panel.  
Blue knelt, picking up the object. She felt the great potential captured within it, almost as if the device was giving off heat.  
“You really made a mess of this,” she said, turning the drive over in her hands. “She, whatever this is, had you more razzled than I thought.”  
“As I said, I’m ashamed,” Aethon grumbled self-consciously. “I made a little holograph for you, with all the correct instruments so you two can interact. It’s on the fabricator. But before...” he trailed off nervously, voice still sounding tired. “You haven’t talked about your last conversation with Ambassador Wukong at all. Just...how…”  
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” the draconic grumbled. She knelt down and picked up the heavy flash drive.  
“Yes...I-I understand, certainly,” Aethon stuttered. “But...Blue, we don’t know what the AP will do. What if they come after us?”  
“They’ll have a hell of a time finding us,” Blue replied shortly. “And if they do…”  
“You don’t have a plan,” the ship accused.  
“I don’t, okay!” the draconic snapped hotly. “I just...I blew up at Wukong. But I can’t go back on it now. For all I know, I’m a wanted criminal now. And I can’t leave these people.”  
“I-I’m sorry,” the ship said meekly.  
Blue exhaled, bowing her head. “No, I’m sorry, Aethon. Not for what I said to Wukong. But I have no right to be snapping at you.”  
She walked over to the quiet fabricator and picked the portable hologram table off of it. Returning to the center of the room, she sat down and plugged the flash drive into it.  
A bluish glow appeared on the table, which quickly formed into the figure of a young woman with short hair. Her body was intangible, and seemed entirely made of holographic code. She turned, spotted Blue, and visibly started.  
“Ah, human technology, like we suspected,” the draconic said. “Sorry we had to accomodate you like this. We just couldn’t have you messing around with anything while we were trying to save this city.”  
“We?” she asked incredulously. “Who are you? You’re not Covenant, and neither is your ship.”  
“My name is Blue,” Blue replied, putting a hand on her chest. “I’m the last known member of the Lupa. You’ve never heard of them, probably.” Retelling the same lie over again suddenly made herself feel self-conscious. “We existed and ceased to exist long before the Forerunners fired Halo. I recently woke up from a hundred thousand year’s sleep and got picked up by a Covenant frigate, which is how I ended up here.”  
“That’s a bit of an extravagant tale,” the hologram said with narrow eyes.  
Blue shrugged. “None of it is important anymore. I think you’ll be happy to know that the current government of this station has been told the truth of Halo, and we’re planning on stopping Truth before he blows us all up.”  
“W-what?” the hologram seemed taken aback. “Is this not the Covenant we’re talking about?”  
Blue shrugged again. “We were of the Covenant. We’re not anymore. The Prophets attempted to massacre the Sangheili; I found about their plans and worked to stop them. I would not stand to see an entire species be destroyed. Which is why I’m also trying to get our two sides,” Blue held up her hands, “to come together.” She crossed her hands in front of her chest. “You were willing to tell Aethon where Truth was going, and we have people tracking him. But we may still need your help.”  
“Your...your people are interested in alliance?” the hologram looked up at her. “With us?”  
Blue nodded cautiously. “It would be very inconvenient to try and stop Truth while your people are shooting at us as well. I’d like to take this advantage of a common enemy to start peace relations. This war has gone on too long.”  
“And you’ve convinced these...creatures on this station to be peaceful as well?” the hologram seemed doubtful, but also curious.  
Blue nodded. “You see, I’m a living example, in a way, of a transcended being, like what they believe the Forerunners became. The truth in that tale, I am in no place to question - the Forerunners have moved to the Beyond, and may as well be gods there, for all we know, so I won’t question that. But I am still here, and while they may not see me as one of their gods, they see me as just as powerful.”  
“Power?” the hologram looked her up and down. “You’ll have to explain.”  
She lifted her hands. “I am surrounded by the proof of my craft. You glimpsed a bit of Aethon’s mind; he is my ship, a living being just as much as I am, operating a mechanical body. I am accompanied by another, though he is busy right now, repairing ships. And my powers go beyond the technological.” She put her hands on her hips. “My people, the Lupa, are known as ‘energetics’. They can, in a limited sense, manipulate the many forms of energy. It evolved as a system of efficient metabolism, but it has become so much more. And in me, it has allowed me to have almost mystical abilities.”  
“I grudgingly admit I have never heard of your kind before,” the hologram said. “Would you mind telling me about yourselves? I am very curious.”  
It could be a press for information. Blue wasn’t monitoring the AI’s internal thoughts to actually know what she was planning, but she felt safe enough with the situation to refrain from being intrusive. As long as she stuck to her story.  
“I’d be glad to tell you about myself,” she said, “but I can do better. I can show you.” She held out her hand. “I am no regular being. I can show you my memories, for their pictures speak a thousand words.” However, there would be a lot she have to carefully wall off from the AI. She didn’t want her learning anything of their fledgling government, or their plans, for now.  
The hologram frowned, arms crossed. “How do I know you won’t try to take information from me?”  
“If I wanted your information, Aethon would already have gotten it from you,” Blue replied, gesturing to the cabin around her. “You fought to escape him, so you must understand how advanced of an intelligence he is.”  
She was cautious, but she nodded. “Ok. Show me.”  
Blue reached down and put her hand on the flash-drive, connecting the AI into her mind. She closed her eyes and brought forth her memories.  
Images flashed through her mind, showing silhouettes of the broad-shouldered, furred creatures with big, triangular ears that grew and grew in number, superior intelligence a spawn of their cooperative life. Soon, they formed massive packs of hundreds of individuals, able to work together flawlessly. From these, civilization spawned, the creatures learning how to use tools, those who evolved more hand-like forepaws succeeding over others, slowly becoming bipedal. They ranged over their planet, forming empires that fought amongst each other, an intense culture of war and honor. And then, Blue inserted her first fabricated memory: the rise of the first Ascendant.  
He was a pacifist during the time of a cataclysmic war between two massive empires, working tirelessly to try and stop the fighting, risking his life constantly. He ran out into the battlefield between the two sides, clutched by a fit of desperation, begging them to stop. He released a massive burst of energy from his outstretched hands, creating a seemingly-endless wall between the two sides that they couldn’t pierce. Life force exhausted, he fell to the ground, the overuse of energy burning him from the inside out. But he did not die; instead, the energy infused itself into his hollowed inside, healing his body. He rose, armor and clothes affixed to his skin, fur and metal and cloth blending seamlessly together. Both sides, shocked by the resurrection, crouched fearfully, lowering their heads. He reached out, somehow crossing the distances between them, and rested his hands on the shoulders of the two warring leaders. “Be at peace,” he said, words seeming to shake the very air. “There is no need to fight. I have seen Beyond and know this true.”  
Blue dropped away those tantalizing visions of godly power, throwing past more memories of the now-united civilization, all of the Lupa marching under one flag. They began to look to the stars, wondering what was beyond.  
She whipped away those visions, jumping to the memories of her own life. These were mostly fake; her in the arms of her mother, playing amongst other Lupine children, learning in their schools, and becoming a respected warrior. Her powers were strong, and she forged herself a suit of mechanized armor, her current form. The Lupa were travelling space by this point, interacting with other long-lost space empires. Blue was stationed on a young planet, part of a contingent defending it from attack by an enemy. She kept the planet in shrouds, hiding anything about it that would make it recognizable. She took to the sky in a last, desperate attempt to save the planet from attack.  
And her mind filled with the hope, the hope and wonder of those around her, those above her, bearing down on the planet. Mothers, fathers, children, teachers, elders, all aboard that attacking warship. And she couldn’t kill them, these people with hope. And so she sacrificed herself, throwing the warship far away, emptying her power into its hyperdrive and forcing it into hyperspace. The energy burned her from the inside out, consuming her with agony. She fell from the sky, blackness overcoming her. And then, there was light, and she was projected back to life, filled with such power it made her glow like a star.  
Her power expanded across the universe. She brought fleets to the ground, lifted mountains into the sky, and flew through the stars. She crossed vast expanses of space, bringing aid to her own people and others, searching as well for the lost warship. She found it, eventually, and descended upon the ship, and convinced them to stop their warring ways. They joined her, and became part of the Lupa.  
Blue returned home, and the outline of a Forerunner ship appeared in the sky.  
Protest; protest and horror. Things were going wrong, very wrong. She bound herself, showing her restraints to dark shadows who turned and walked away. Her own ships left her, vanishing into the night sky. Her own sight became dark, before igniting again with a vision of ‘Ayanamee’s ship.  
Blue opened her eyes, ending the trance of memories. It had been a little messy and rushed, but she felt it was adequate.  
The hologram was standing like someone had punched her in the face. She regained her thoughts, looking up to Blue with guarded wonder.  
“Where did your people go?” she asked.  
“Away,” Blue replied. “To another galaxy. They didn’t want to fight the Forerunners. Those who stayed wanted to figure out peaceful relations, but were ultimately thwarted. I was among them, as you saw.”  
“I would love to know more,” the AI admitted. “But I have a feeling your time is a little too short for that.”  
Blue nodded. “I’ve got a lot of business to attend to, running this place. But I promise, everything I am doing is for the best of both our sides. I hope you’ll see this. Your help would be invaluable.”  
The hologram nodded, but made no notion of what her current thoughts were. Then, “Once I see proof of your good intentions, I’ll be more inclined to believe you.”  
Blue nodded. “I think I can have that arranged. I don’t want anyone else finding out you’re here, though. I’m not sure what they would do.” She stood. “I’ll tell you what; you can come with me. I’ll have Aethon make a better drive for me to carry, though.”  
“I am so sorry,” Aethon lamented. “You know how rushed I was. Nobody’s ever come as close to hacking my systems as you did. Otherwise I would’ve made you a nicer drive to live in.”  
The hologram chuckled, evidently proud of her efforts. “You’re lucky whatever you run off of is something I’ve never encountered before.”  
“Aethon is a coremind,” Blue said. “His consciousness is a result of very high-level energetic programming. Even if you could get through his firewalls, I doubt you’d be able to understand or control anything, without the proper interface.”  
“New drive has been fabricated,” Aethon announced.   
Blue walked over and picked up the much lighter drive. “Thanks, Aethon.”  
“Is bringing her with you really a good idea?” he hissed in Lupine.  
Blue shrugged. “I need her to trust me. Keeping her prisoner her won’t help that.”  
She walked back to the hologram. “I’ll transfer you into here and take the hologram with me, so we can talk whenever.”  
The hologram crossed her arms. “Whatever you say.”  
“I’ll need something to call you,” the draconic mentioned. “I already told you my name.”  
The hologram paused, considering. “Cortana,” she finally said.  
Blue knelt, removing the clunky flash-drive. She connected the two drives together and monitored the transfer, making sure the old drive was completely empty before disconnecting it.  
She secured the drive to her belt. “Nice work, Aethon.”  
“I hope everything goes well,” the ship replied. “I hope she’ll agree to help us.”  
Blue nodded. “If she tells the humans we’re on their side, I think they’re more likely to believe us than if I told them. I hope for the best of this as well.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	20. 1.19: Fragile Alliance

1.19 - Fragile Alliance

High Charity was preparing to enter slipspace. It was a slow process since the base was now thronged with ships, the survivors of the defense fleet, plus those who’d come back from Installation 05 and some of those who’d heeded their call and left Imperial Admiral Wattinree behind. The Imperial Admiral himself, and whoever was sticking with him, had yet to show.  
Blue was aboard the still-docked Fearless Wander, trying to work through the logistics of their fleets with ‘Ayanam. The shipmaster was still acting as a commander for much of the defense fleet, who had yet to reorganize and figure out who else to take orders from.  
“Many of our ships are still involved in containing the Flood on Installation 05,” ‘Ayanam reported. “I sent them reinforcements before you and your Council starting calling everyone back. They are having issues, out there, it would seem.”  
“I need to know how many we have,” Blue replied. “What sort of fleet we’ve got left, and who’s around to command them. You’ve been in contact with practically everyone; tell me what you know.”  
“We lost some ships when Imperial Admiral Wattinree called them,” he told her. “Some of them have since sheepishly returned. A few of the combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose have showed up, though the Imperial Admiral himself remains missing. None of my calls out to Joyous Exultation have been hailed. I suspect we have been ignored.”  
“At least we’ve got some supporters showing up,” Blue remained optimistic.  
“The Fleet of Righteous Vigilance is nearly intact,” the Shipmaster continued. “Their shipmaster assassinated the Prophet onboard their flagship and took over as soon as they got wind of the assassination attempt on the Councilors. Their decisions saved them from destruction, and after they were done, they made swift to High Charity, and helped us drive off the Jiralhanae.”  
“I’ll have to find that shipmaster and give him a promotion,” Blue declared. “He sounds like someone I’d want in charge.”  
‘Ayanam gave her a look, along the lines of you-know-nothing-about-commanding-fleets that she could almost call salty.   
“Anyways,” he continued, “we have also got a good bit of the Fleet of Blessed Veneration left over. Many of them fled during the fighting, but returned once they were alerted that the Sangheili had control over High Charity. I have been in contact with their Fleet Master, and apparently they have friendly San’Shyuum aboard, which was unexpected.”  
“Oh?” Blue found her curiosity engaged. “That’s good, I hope.”  
‘Ayanam looked like he could care less. “They can say they’re our friends, if they like, but I’ll let their actions be the judge of that.”  
Blue folded her hands. “Who else do we have?”  
“Bits and pieces of the Fleets of Profound Solitude, Tranquil Composure, and Inner Knowledge,” ‘Ayanam replied. “Those were all Jiralhanae-controlled, but a few ships got overthrown. They’ve joined together, along with other stragglers from dissolved fleets, and have started calling themselves the Fleet of Deadly Purpose. I’ve been in close contact with them, to make sure they don’t go haring off on their own without our permission, because that name gives me the sneaking suspicion they might try to do that.”  
Blue waved her hand. “Let them name themselves, though I will have to look into who’s in charge. I won’t have any defectors thinking they can fight this battle on their own. We will go together after Truth, and all will listen to the Five.”  
“If I could offer some advice,” ‘Ayanam said; Blue nodded for him to continue. He began scrolling through some of the communications logs he’d been keeping. “I would not try and change around who comes to be in charge. It will just make things harder for you.”  
The draconic shrugged. “Well, I have to make sure the people in charge are reasonable. I’m working complicated things, here.”  
‘Ayanam nodded. “I understand that. It is just my opinion.”  
“Well, who should be in charge, then?” Blue asked him. “We have a few to pick from, and you know them better than me.”  
“Shipmaster Rtas ‘Vadum,” ‘Ayanam replied without hesitation. “If you were any sort of smart, which you are, you would let him lead these forces. He is already commanding the ships at the quarantine. His leadership ability is renowned.”  
“I can cast my vote for him if the Council challenges his role,” Blue reassured him. “I know of him, and I know he is worthy of the role. And as a respected shipmaster, I would not want to alienate him. We need people with his sort of military prowess. I anxiously await his arrival, whenever his business aboard the Installation is complete.”  
“The Flood is tenacious,” ‘Ayanam agreed. “Despite all efforts to quell it, it still attempts to escape containment. However, I think our increased unity from your actions made the Jiralhanae shorter work than they could have been, so we could turn our attention to the Flood sooner.”  
“I cannot discredit the bravery and tenacity on the part of our fleets, as well,” Blue inclined her head respectfully. “It was you who kept the Flood contained alongside me when they broke in.”  
“This is a war of all sides,” ‘Ayanam agreed. “When I heard of even Jiralhanae ships turning away to fight the Flood, I had hope for an unpredicted unity. But that was not to be.”  
“I’ll take the humans over the Jiralhanae any day,” Blue said with a snort. “They’re much more reasonable.”  
The control screens around ‘Ayanam flashed, drawing his attention. Communications were being patched in.   
“Quarantine has been successful,” he said. “All traces of the Flood have been wiped from the Installation.”  
“Alert all the ships,” Blue ordered. She was already alerting the Councilors, finger to her ear. “We’re ready to make the jump as soon as they are. We must get on Truth’s tail as fast as possible; no more waiting around for stragglers. That Prophet must be stopped.”  
“I’ll tell them,” ‘Ayanam promised. “They’ll be ready in moments.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Blue was practically in agony over how long slipspace travel took when compared to hyperspace travel. What would’ve taken her only about a day would take over a week.  
 _Imagine, imagine...this place, with a hyperspace drive. Oh, the joys...once I get my hands on that Dreadnought…_  
At least a week meant plenty of time to prepare. Blue would have all of her energies back by the time they arrived.  
At least she could still visit with ‘Ayanam, and ‘Refum, who were all aboard High Charity with her. She also made plenty of visits to Sirsir and the Unggoy working the Armory Forges. Her portable shielding devices were stacked up in the tens of thousands.   
She visited the Kig-Yar, paying her respects to the new Brood Mother. She visited the Yan’me Hive Queen and the Lekgolo (though the latter still wouldn’t talk to her, they at least tolerated her presence). Still no sign of the Huragok; she refused to believe they had straight-up vanished, but that seemed to be the case.  
She needed to speak to Cortana. Aboard Aethon was the best place for privacy.  
She took the flash-drive from her belt, once again seated on the floor of Aethon’s cabin. She plugged it into the hologram, and the image of the AI appeared.  
“Hey Cortana,” she said. “How are you?”  
“Feeling cramped,” the AI truthfully replied. “What do you want?”  
“It seems that Truth is headed for Earth after all,” the draconic told her. “High Charity has decided to pursue, and would like to cease-fire with humanity for the time being.”  
Cortana’s eyes got stormy. “That bastard…we knew he’d go there.”  
“If I attach a device to this hologram that’ll let you communicate with the human forces on Earth, will you send them a nice message?” Blue asked. “I want them to know we’re coming, and not to shoot at us. They need to know that we’re friendly.”  
“Hmmmm…” the AI refused a direct answer. “Well, it does seem like, from what you’ve shown me, you’re trying to help. I guess I could send them a, as you put it, nice message.”   
Blue had let Cortana secretly overhear parts of conversations with ‘Ayanam and a few others, on their business at Earth. She’d carefully chosen and guided the conversations to be as supportive as possible. However, she knew that the AI could tell that much of the story was still hidden.  
“I would be deeply grateful if you would,” the draconic said. “As a warning, though: I’ll be able to understand what you tell them, so do not cross me.”  
Cortana looked at her sideways. “You can tell what I’m doing?”  
Blue nodded. “I’m an accomplished telepathic and hacker. There isn’t a mind I can’t read, biological or otherwise.”  
“Oh,” Cortana looked away, suddenly worried. “What would you like me to tell them?”  
“Tell them High Charity has fallen under the control of the Sangheili, and they are pursuing a hostile band of Jiralhanae led by the former High Prophet of Truth. We’re trying to stop him from activating Halo. We aboard this station are interested in alliance in order to defeat this common enemy,” Blue ordered. “Tell them you’re aboard High Charity, but your presence is only known to me, one of the five leaders of this faction.”  
Cortana sent the message, as told. “They should get it soon, and they’ll try to reply to me.”  
“I’ll pick up their communications,” Blue promised. “I analysed the frequency you sent yours out on and should be able to catch any returns. I’ll tell you what they say.”  
“It would be much easier if I could just receive them myself,” the AI pushed.  
Blue shook her head. “I can’t give you that much leeway. I can tell you’re not 100% with us.”  
Cortana looked away, knowing the same. “Neither are you. You’ve built this empire on a tangled web. You have your own agenda, I can tell.”  
That hit home for her, even if she knew that the AI couldn’t possibly know the whole truth. She looked away, grimacing. “You have to understand. I’m doing what I believe is best for everyone.”  
The AI crossed her arms over her chest. “What you believe may not be what everyone else believes. And how can you know what they believe if you’re so busy keeping secrets from them?”  
“That’s enough for now,” Blue sharply reached for the flash-drive, uncomfortable. “I’ll see you later, Cortana.”  
The AI returned to the drive and Blue put it back on her belt, feeling like spiders were crawling up her back.  
“She’s still determined to betray us, if she thinks we’ll become threatening,” she said to Aethon quietly. “She knows just how temporary this alliance could be.” She grimaced again, showing teeth. “And she’s got an uncanny knack for detecting trickery.”  
“We can only work our hardest for the best outcome,” the ship replied. “Have faith, Blue. While we might not save everyone, we will still save some. In the end...well, maybe your lies won’t even matter. Maybe they’ll never be brought up. You could live on with your life, pretending, and nobody would know any different.”  
“I would know,” she replied bitter. “But, I mean, I just want to help these people...I’m constantly searching for something to make up for those I couldn’t save, even though I know it’s near to impossible to save everyone.” She shook her head. “I wish I didn’t have to do it this way. But I feel like I’m too far in now to change anything.”  
“I know how torn you are,” Aethon comforted her. “Remember what this is, Blue. In the morning, everything will be alright.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They were nearing the end of their slipspace journey, and High Charity was gearing up for a fight.  
The Unggoy had been doing rounds, giving out portable energy shields to the people aboard the station. They couldn’t outfit everyone, but the vast majority would be toting the round devices, making them even more formidable in the field. Crates of the energetic tech were also going to be transported to the many ships travelling with High Charity, once they got out of slipspace.  
BTS had been away from Blue for most of the trip, working on repairs and logistics down at the docks. The metal tiger was practically a walking arsenal of tools; what he didn’t have he could innovate from other things. He wasn’t the greatest teacher, but was doing his best to educate the multitudes of bored Unggoy that had started following him around, referring to him as the “Holy Beast”. True to his often egotistical nature, he gleefully absorbed the praise and loved showing off to absolutely everyone.  
“I’d give him a stern talking-to if I could,” Aethon muttered. “But I’m stuck playing generator. Oh, woe is me.”  
And Blue was stuck playing governor. A new body was forming under the High Council, shifting the center of military strategy from them. Currently nameless, it consisted of Rtas ‘Vadum and the Shipmaster in charge of the Fleet of Righteous Vigilance, N’tuk ‘Tusam, plus some of the more important shipmasters within those two fleets. ‘Ayanam was gathering a lot of accolades; ‘Tusam was accrediting the frigate Shipmaster with the salvation of his fleet. ‘Ayanam had alerted them all to the incoming genocide, giving them time to prepare.  
“This action has been occuring outside the view of the Council,” the Shipmaster told her.   
“Outside my view, too,” she admitted.  
“Does it bother you?” he asked.  
“It’s no big deal, in my opinion,” she told him, shaking her head. “The Council moves too slowly to make decisions in the heat of battle. It’s all the better that the Shipmasters seem to be consolidating under a leader.”  
“I worry that these two commands will come to clash,” the shipmaster admitted. “The ultimate goals of us and them are different.”  
“What do you think of the alliance with humanity?” Blue dared to ask.  
‘Ayanam snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think it’s a waste of time. What help will they be? We are far more advanced than they are, in technology and tactics. But, I guess I can understand the logic by which you run. It is easier to fight one enemy instead of two.” He looked away. “But we would completely crush them if we had to.”  
Blue nodded. “I think you underestimate humanity. They’re a tenacious bunch.”  
‘Ayanam seemed to find that humorous. “Hah. We shall see.”  
“What will do be doing?” Blue asked. “Will you fight with them?”  
“I want to,” ‘Ayanam admitted, “but the Fearless Wander is no heavy warship. The shipmasters want me to fight as well, or at least ‘Tusam and his people do. But I am of more use as a shipmaster than anything else, and they have no extra ships for me to command.”  
“You deserve better than this frigate,” Blue agreed. “You’ve done so much to help everyone around here, and even before these terrible events, I have heard of how accomplished you are. With the Prophets gone, I think it is time that you get what you deserve.”  
“Well, unless you have a ship for me, that isn’t happening at this time,” ‘Ayanam replied. “I am humbled that you think of me in this way, though, so please don’t get me wrong.” He quickly reversed his descent into sarcasm, remembering who he was talking to.  
“I’ll see what I can do,” Blue promised him. “Either way, we’ll need all the firepower we’ve got to fight off Truth’s fleet. The Fearless Wander may be small when compared to some, but she’s got armor and guns and a shipmaster that knows what he’s doing.”  
“Thank you for your kind words, Ascendant,” ‘Ayanam said formally. “I will keep faith in what you have spoken.”  
“Is everyone on your ships armed with my shields?” Blue asked. “Including those on the corvettes?”  
‘Ayanam nodded. “We made that a priority, or rather my Unggoy did.”  
Blue nodded. “Good. I’ll probably have you guys transport shields to the other ships when we drop out of slipspace. The crates are stacked up in the Armory Forges; the Unggoy will bring them up. I would work swift; our time is short.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	21. 1.20: The Dragon and the Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Classes officially start today. Best of luck for this semester, y'all!  
> The talking is almost done, I promise. The fighting starts next chapter!

1.20 - The Dragon and the Demon

High Charity did not drop out of slipspace directly above Earth; they dropped beyond the moon and settled in a stationary location, far enough from the planet to make a quick escape in case things went south.  
The Fearless Wander and her contingent of corvettes detached from the docks, loaded up with the crates of shielding devices. They spread out between the ships, expertly docking with each one and depositing their loads. They targeted the ships which ‘Vadum and ‘Tusam had decided would most likely be putting people on the ground.  
Blue was aboard the Fearless Wander with BTS. They would be on their way to Earth as soon as the devices were spread out.  
Scuttling off to a quiet corner of the ship, she took the holograph off her belt and plugged Cortana’s flash-drive into it. The image of the AI flickered to life.  
“Hey,” Blue said quietly,” I’m not on Aethon this time, so try to keep it down, ok? I don’t want to attract attention.”  
“Alright,” Cortana replied in an equally quiet manner that was almost mocking of Blue’s tone. “What is it?”  
“I got a reply from your people,” Blue told her. “They’re very confused. They don’t know whether this is a trap or not. They want more information on the situation, so I’d like you to send them another message.”  
“What do you want me to tell them?” Cortana asked.  
“Tell them we’ve arrived and are going to enter orbit within the hour,” Blue said. “Please don’t shoot at us. We have a combined fleet that’s going to head to the coordinates where Truth and that artifact is, and try to stop him.”  
“Alright,” Cortana grudgingly agreed. “You better not be lying.”  
“I’m not,” Blue replied. “You saw my memories. And Truth is on Earth now; the humans have seen him.”  
“Those were incomplete,” Cortana argued. “I could tell you were hiding things from me.”  
“Remember, you are still technically the enemy,” Blue replied bluntly. “Until lasting peace is established, it will remain that way.”  
“Blue? Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue?”  
She recognized that voice; her head shot up just in time to spot Sirsir come dancing around the corner. And just in time for Sirsir to spot Cortana.  
“Eeek!” he screeched. “Blue floating lady!”  
“It’s ok!” Blue yelled, holding out her hands. “Sirsir, calm down.” the Unggoy was standing on one foot, waving his hands in the air aggressively. He slowly put his hands down and edged over with a suspicious look on his face. Cortana glared at him.  
“Sirsir, this is Cortana,” Blue introduced them. “Cortana, this is Sirsir.”  
“Who?” Sirsir said cautiously, trotting over. “Whyu got human blue lady?”  
“Cortana is a human AI,” Blue explained, putting a hand on Sirsir’s shoulder in case he tried to run away. “She got left behind on High Charity. She’s been helping us and the humans not fight.”  
“AI bad,” Sirsir grumbled. “Nono AI.”  
“She is helping us,” Blue repeated. “And AI is not bad. You like Aethon and BTS.”  
“Oh,” Sirsir seemed like he was expecting something more dramatic, staring at Cortana. She crossed her arms and continued to glare at him.  
“Sirsir is one of my good friends,” Blue said to Cortana. “He’s been very helpful to me.”  
Sirsir puffed out his chest. “Sirsir good Unggoy.”  
“Well, good to meet you, then, I guess,” Cortana said sarcastically.  
“You can’t tell anyone you saw us, ok?” Blue dropped her head and looked Sirsir sternly in the eye. “Nobody else knows Cortana is here, and if they did they would want to steal her. We can’t have that, because she is a good AI. Only bad AI’s deserve to be stolen.”  
“All AI bad,” Sirsir muttered. “But Blue good. Blue say AI is good, so AI must be good.” he looked up at her. “Sirsir tell nobody, promise!”  
Blue smiled. “Thank you, Sirsir. Now, did you need me for something?”  
He nodded. “Shipmaster say we done delivering shielders. He say we be in orbit soon. We go to Earth! Fight bad Jiralhanae!”  
“Thank you for letting me know,” Blue told him. “Be on your way, now. And remember, _no telling anyone_.”  
Something blipped in her head; the humans were trying to reply to Cortana again. Sirsir bounced around the corner and out of sight.  
“What an interesting fellow,” Cortana muttered. “He’s totally going to rat on you.”  
“I just got another reply,” Blue told her, ignoring her jab. “There are Jiralhanae all over Voi. And...Truth activated the device. They’ve gone through some sort of portal.” She balled up her fists. “Damn him, he’s evaded us again!”  
“What will you do now?” Cortana challenged her. “Chase after that Prophet of yours and leave us to die of his Brutes?”  
“Of course not!” Blue replied, baring her teeth. “The Jiralhanae must be stopped, and leaving you behind will ruin this alliance.” She picked up the holograph. “I must go for now, but I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again soon.”  
Cortana nodded. “I have that feeling as well.”  
Blue unplugged the flash-drive and put both devices back on her belt before sprinting from the room.  
‘Ayanam was up on his control platform, communicating with the other ships. Blue burst into the room, drawing attention to her.  
“Truth has activated a portal on Earth’s surface and escaped through it!” she declared. “There are Jiralhanae on the ground, in the surrounding area. They must be stopped!”  
“I’ll alert the others,” ‘Ayanam said, his voice leaving no room for debate on the behalf of his muttering crew. “We’re leaving High Charity and proceeding immediately to the planet’s surface.”  
“I’m going down there,” Blue said.  
“Are you strong enough?” ‘Ayanam questioned.  
Blue glared up at him. “Yes, I am. BTS will come with me, as well.”  
“Whatever ‘Vadum says will be final,” ‘Ayanam warned her, “though we have no place in stopping you, we do have a place in helping you.”  
“Get us down there,” Blue ordered. “Whatever is decided, I will comply. BTS!”  
She called the metal tiger, who came sprinting into the room in under a minute, paws grating against the floor as he skidded to a stop. She rested her hand on his head.  
“We’re going to Earth,” she told him, eyes on ‘Ayanam as he communicated with the other ships.  
“Shipmaster ‘Vadum is sending in a SpecOps contingent with you,” the Shipmaster told Blue. “You can see yourself to ground; they’ll follow in Orbital Insertion Pods. He’s made contact with the humans on the ground. Once you’ve cleared a landing area, we’ll send in reinforcements. It seems Truth has left behind a small fleet, to try and slow us down. He expected us to follow him.”  
“Let us out,” Blue ordered. “Come on, BTS. We’ll have to make quick work of these bastards to catch up with Truth.”  
The pair ran to the nearest exit that could accommodate them. They dove through the energy barrier to the outside.  
The heat of the sun was fiery against Blue’s skin, but it didn’t bother her. She grabbed onto BTS’s shoulders. Plates on his back unfolded, and stiff wings emerged from his back, multitudes of moving parts arranging themselves into the fuselage and engines. Energy pulsed from the exhausts, and they shot towards the planet. They passed beyond the leading edge of Sangheili ships, a bright streak across the sky as they entered the atmosphere.  
Blue looked back; her sharp eyes spotted the Pods entering atmosphere behind her before the flames of reentry rose up around her shields and blocked her vision.  
_Aethon! We’re going to ground. It’s possible you’re going to be left with very few defensive ships. I trust you’ll protect High Charity if the need arises.  
Of course, Blue. This station has many of its own weapons, and mine too._  
BTS was humming his way through the atmosphere, mindless of the heat, which bothered neither of them.  
_Impact in 10, 9, 8…_  
The burning ruins of the city reached up to grab them, and BTS’s rockets fired, slowing their landing to a safe speed. Blue jumped from his back, still on fire. She touched down on a rooftop. BTS landed nearby.  
“To the Pods!” Blue ordered, pointing. The Pods were hurtling towards an outcropping next to the buildings. She ran, jumped from the rooftop, and landed on the ground, rolling. Angry roaring sounded in her ears; the Jiralhanae had spotted them. She pulled the earthshaker from its sheath, spinning it around and slamming it into the ground. The pulse that emanated from the tip threw the charging Jiralhanae back. The ground shook at the Pods landed, bursting open to let the SpecOps Sangheili out.  
BTS was making rounds around them, finishing off the Jiralhanae Blue had stunned. In the darkness, even uncloaked, he was practically invisible.  
“The humans are trying to fend off these attackers,” Blue instructed the SpecOps. “We must make contact with their forces and help them.”  
“You can blow something up,” BTS inappropriately suggested. “You got another UNSC ship lying around?”  
“No, I don’t,” Blue replied. “And even if we could find another ship, it’s very rude to blow up people’s cities like that.”  
“ _What_ are you blowing up?”  
Someone had snuck up on them, somehow, otherwise they never would have heard the tiger and draconic talking. Blue whipped around, spotting a squad of humans walking towards them; Marines, led by a strange figure in dull green armor and a golden visor. By all means, it looked like a human was under that armor, but they were easily seven feet tall, making them taller than Blue by over half a foot. She stepped back defensively.  
_Damn, why does everyone have to be taller than me?_  
BTS crouched, ears flat to his head; the SpecOps Sangheili growled, putting their own weapons up. “Not a step closer, Demon!”  
Blue put her hands up (the usually pacifying gesture was completely ruined by the seven-foot spike-tipped weapon she was holding). “Stand down! We’re not here to fight you.”  
_So this is the ‘Demon’ I’ve heard about. He was on High Charity when the Flood tried to take the station._  
She had a moment of clarity. Aethon had told her that Cortana had mentioned someone called the ‘Master Chief’, a human super soldier called a Spartan. She had been travelling with him before High Charity. This had to be him.  
“You and your AI friend were rampaging around the station when the Flood attacked,” she said cautiously, hands still up. “You were chasing Truth. So are we. We have a common goal.” She inclined her head. “My name is Blue.”  
“You people have Cortana,” the Chief accused. “I had to leave her behind. Where is she?”  
“She’s safe and comfortable,” Blue replied, hoping she was pacifying. “I’ve personally seen to that.”  
“Arbiter!” one of the SpecOps gasped, breaking away from the tense stare-off between the draconic and the Spartan. Blue’s eyes shifted over, and widened in surprise. The silver-clad Sangheili was with the Marines, standing among them as a compatriot and not as a prisoner. Thel ‘Vadam, the Prophet-disgraced Arbiter.  
“My brothers,” ‘Vadam said, “I fear you bring me bad news.”  
“Not as bad as you would think,” the Sangheili Major replied. “High Charity was saved by this individual.” He gestured to Blue. “She averted the overtaking of our holy city by both the Flood and the treacherous Jiralhanae!”  
“Arbiter,” Blue said, lowering her head and putting her two fingers to her forehead. “It is an honor to meet you at last.”  
‘Vadam narrowed his eyes at her. “You are the Lupine creature. I was not sure you would amount to much. But here we are.”  
Blue narrowed her eyes a bit. “The Jiralhanae believed that too. It was their undoing.”  
The Arbiter inclined his head to her before turning to the Major. “And what of our fleet? Has quarantine been broken?”  
“Quarantine was successful,” the Major replied. “The Flood aboard the Ring were destroyed.”  
“You people have Cortana!” the Chief spoke up before anyone could reply. “You have to give her back.”  
“After we fix this issue,” Blue replied, eyes narrow. “We have more important things to deal with at the moment. Cortana is in good hands.”  
“If you people did anything to her,” the Chief walked right up to Blue, jabbing a finger at her chest. “I will personally kill all of you.”  
“Cortana is unharmed,” Blue levelly replied. “As I said, I made sure of that fact, personally.”  
“Brothers, we must move,” ‘Vadam spoke up. “Time is short, and the Brutes gain more power.”  
“The Jiralhanae have set up their forces near here,” Blue said, turning from the Chief. “We must make our way there and route them from this planet.”  
“We’re coming with you,” the Chief said. He clearly didn’t trust her.  
“Of course,” Blue replied.  
“We will fight through these Brutes,” ‘Vadam vowed. “This is a battle for justice!”  
~


	22. 1.21: The Glassing of Voi Pt. 1

1.21 - The Glassing of Voi Pt. 1

“The Jiralhanae have set up anti-air guns beyond these buildings,” BTS spoke up. He was checking out his sharp claws. “On my way down here, I scanned the area. I’ve mapped us the best way through. Once we take those down, our ships can come and finish the rest of them off.”  
Blue nodded. “Lead on.”   
‘Ayanam was also communicating with her; they were sending in reinforcements.  
 _We have to remain outside the city,_ he told her. _The Jiralhanae have set up anti-aircraft guns near your position, and ‘Vadum doesn’t believe it’s worth directly engaging them from the air. He is certain our ground troops can make quick business of those guns, without having to risk our own ships._  
The metal tiger headed out along the cliff’s edge, skirting the buildings. They fell in behind him, and the roars of more Jiralhanae echoed from ahead.  
“Your energetic shields – my technology - will activate if your own energy shields go down,” Blue instructed the Sangheili, “but don’t let yourselves became reckless; they will not last forever. Take cover as you would if your energy shields are depleted. These devices are meant to give you a chance to escape.”  
They faced a warehouse, encountering some Jiralhanae who were searching for them, having seen the Pods drop. Blue leveled her earthshaker at them, spewing deadly bolts; more shots flew by as her allies engaged.   
“BTS! Go through those windows and clear our flank! We need space for reinforcements to drop,” Blue ordered.   
“Rodger dodger,” the tiger replied. He squinted. “Hey, do you think they have grenades?”  
“Yeah, why?” the draconic asked.  
“Telekinetically activate them,” BTS suggested.  
Blue concentrated. A small explosion occurred as a pack of Jiralhanae had all of their grenades detonate.  
“Tah daaah,” BTS meowed, not even taking a single step in the process. He looked proud, even though he had done none of the work.  
“Smart,” Blue praised. “I’ll keep that in mind.”  
A Phantom passed overhead, dropping more Sangheili and Unggoy onto the ground behind them. BTS flew into the air, scanning around.  
“Onwards!” the tiger called from above. “Through this warehouse!”  
They ran up the stairs, entering the smoky, abandoned building. Roars echoed, and Jiralhanae jumped down through an opening in the roof at the end of the hallway. Blue lunged at the nearest one and slashed him nearly in two. Plasma shots burned across her skin, shields glowing in response; she ducked into cover.  
More covering fire; the Jiralhanae were swiftly destroyed, as outnumbered as they were. More entered through a door, above their current position. BTS leapt onto the platform, claws swinging. Fire spilled from his jaws, consuming those in close proximity. Their screams were cut off suddenly.  
“What kind of monster is that?” one of the marines muttered.  
BTS trotted behind a wall and returned momentarily. “Hey, there’s a flamethrower up here, if somebody wants it.” He jumped down from the platform, weapon clutched in one paw. He hopped over.  
“Here, you probably know how to use this,” he offered the weapon to the Chief, who accepted it in a sort of bewildered fashion, as if he couldn’t quite get over the idea of being offered a flamethrower by a large, black, robotic, talking tiger.  
Blue peered ahead, eyes easily piercing the smoke. “They’ve holed up with their guns on the top of that hill...we’ll need to blow them out.”  
“Hold in this doorway; watch our rear,” ‘Vadam was directing the Sangheili. “We do not know from where these treasonous creatures will come.”  
BTS charged ahead; there were Jiralhanae waiting for them, in strong positions in the upper floors of buildings. The rest of the group, sheltered in the doorway, provided covering fire. The metal tiger tore heedlessly around the battlefield. He was shooting explosive bolts of energy through windows, the shots coming from a turret that had unfolded from his back.  
“Watch your shields, BTS!” Blue yelled, watching the tiger take a direct hit to the flank. “You aren’t invincible!”  
The tiger reluctantly retreated, fleeing from the gunfire. Blue aimed her earthshaker, taking out another Jiralhanae camping at a window.  
Roars echoed around them, and more Jiralhanae appeared ahead, on the ground. Another Phantom flew by; more reinforcements through the warehouse behind them.  
“There are some more Brutes just beyond this area,” BTS reported, returning to them. “They’ve got Kig-Yar up in sniping positions. We’ll need someone to cut from the group and head up onto those platforms to take them down.” He pointed out some exterior platforms running along the buildings he’d just cleared of Jiralhanae.  
“I’ve got it,” the Chief said, reloading his gun. He moved through the door and away.  
Blue leveled her earthshaker, firing more bolts. The Jiralhanae approached too rapidly to eliminate them all, and a few were nearly on top of them now. She leapt forwards, spreading her wings protectively from her sides, to keep them from getting around and attacking the Sangheili behind her. They crashed into her wings, momentum knocking her (and them as well) over. A metal bolt impacted her wing, shields flaring.  
She howled, falling to the side. Rolling, she got back to her feet, tucking her wings back in. One of the Jiralhanae had a Spiker, and went to fire at her again. She dodged, hand coming up, ball of energy erupting from her palm. It struck him in the chest, splashing against energy shielding.  
“They have shields!” she roared in warning. A slice of her earthshaker took down the Jiralhanae’s shields, and the blades between her knuckles emerged. She punched him in the chest, blades going right through. He died, weapons clattering to the ground.  
The others had cleared the Jiralhanae from around them, for the moment. One of the SpecOps shakily got up from the ground, knocked off his feet by one of the Brutes. The foe had taken his shields down, but Blue’s little shielding device had activated in their absence and saved his life.  
“Forwards!” ‘Vadam urged. “Victory is in sight!”  
They rounded a stack of large crates, weapons blazing as they engaged the enemies on the other side. Blue and BTS circled around them, rooting out the Jiralhanae in stronger positions that kept trying to flank them. More reinforcements were coming in from the back, boosting their numbers.  
 _You’ve got to get those guns down, Blue. Our time is short,_ ‘Ayanam warned her.  
Blue spotted the Chief, up on the platforms to their right. He was shooting at the farther-away Kig-Yar BTS had described. As she watched, he shot the last of the snipers.  
“Advance!” she ordered. “Snipers are down!” They moved again, guns up.  
More roaring came from below; a ramp leading up to their position was thronged by Jiralhanae. BTS charged them, spitting fire from his jaws. Plasma shots rang against his shields and he backed off, snarling.  
Blue inhaled, plates along her neck rippling. There was a very nice drop-off behind all those Jiralhanae…  
She roared, air spilling from her jaws. The deadly cone of force struck the oncoming enemies, bunched together on the ramp. The front lines fell, thrown into those behind them. The majority of them were launched off the cliff; the rest BTS engaged and quickly slaughtered.  
She shook her head, feeling the emptiness of her armor’s compression chambers. The next chance to refill them would probably be far in the future.  
The others were engaging more Jiralhanae ahead; the Chief jumped down from the platform to join the Sangheili.  
“Look at those guns!” one of the Sangheili was observing the massive anti-air guns up at the top of the hill. “Those will do irreversible damage to our ships.”  
“They did irreversible damage to ours, for sure!” one of the Marines replied.  
One of the SpecOps cried out; his shields were down, and the energetic device on his armor had gone dark. A Jiralhanae wielding a gravity hammer swung at him, the Sangheili barely evading.  
Blue lunged, swinging her earthshaker. She parried away the hammer; energy burst from her free hand and drove the Jiralhanae back. She followed up with a shot from the earthshaker, taking down the Brute’s shields. Another shot and he was down, hole blown through his chest.  
“Gotta watch for those guys,” she said, exhaling the breath she’d been unintentionally holding. “That was close.”  
“You saved my life,” the SpecOps replied. “Thank you.”  
She helped him back to his feet; BTS had been guarding them from attack. The metal tiger turned and gestured for them to follow.  
The group was fighting its way towards the now-visible building at the top of the hill, swarmed by Jiralhanae. BTS and Blue each took a flank, running up the sides and cutting through the nearest Jiralhanae with claw, blade, and fire.  
“Reinforcements amass around us,”’Vadam said. “Together, we will take back what is ours!”  
Blue nodded. “Let’s get to that building and destroy those guns!”  
 _Blue?_ It was ‘Ayanam.  
 _Yes?  
Shipmaster ‘Vadum wants to glass the city to get rid of the Jiralhanae once you take down those guns.  
I don’t think that’s a good idea.  
It’s for the sake of time; it’ll take too long to round up every last Brute. Truth will have activated Halo by then._  
Blue frowned. _The humans aren’t going to like it.  
Too bad. We’re sending extraction ships once you’re done._  
Blue ground her teeth together. _I hope you know what you’re doing._  
“What ails you?” ‘Vadam had noticed her pause, the Ascendant looking up to the sky.  
Blue shook her head, regaining her thoughts. “I was just communicating with those above. We must make swift work of those guns.”  
Nobody else had gotten a COM alert, but the Sangheili and Unggoy who knew about Blue’s telepathy could guess what was going on. The Arbiter gave her a curious look, but did not ask any further questions.  
“What do they have up there?” she asked. “Can anyone tell?”  
“Two Mantis turrets, multiple Shade turrets, and Anti-Aircraft Wraiths” one of the SpecOps reported. “We are lucky we didn’t get too close; the Mantis is a deadly creature.”  
“No, we’re lucky the Jiralhanae had the humans to shoot at,” Blue replied. “If it wasn’t for those other ships distracting them, those Mantis turrets would’ve taken down our ships when we entered the atmosphere.”  
“You’re welcome,” one of the Marines sarcastically muttered.  
One of the Mantis turrets fired; a Phantom on its way to give them more reinforcements was blown to pieces.  
“Our distraction is running out,” Blue growled. “We must move!”  
 _‘Ayanam, tell them to not send any more Phantoms. We’ve got this, and the Mantis turrets are making it too dangerous to fly ships in._  
“Follow me,” BTS ordered. “I’ll lead you through the most sheltered path. Otherwise, we will be at the mercy of those Shades.” He flicked his tail in the direction they were to go.  
They slipped right, into another building. The area around them was black and scorched; the Jiralhanae had been busy repelling human attacks, which had all but ceased, forces ruined by Truth’s ships before they had departed.  
“I’ll supercloak us whenever we need to move through open space,” BTS called back to them. “Inside, though, I’d rather save my energy.”  
“Brutes, from the left!” one of the Marines yelled. The offending Jiralhanae roared, busting through a doorway. The leading one swung a gravity hammer, hitting the Marine and sending him flying away, dead on impact.  
Blue hissed. Without proper shielding, the humans were hopeless against the Jiralhanae.  
“Eat shit and die!” BTS yelled from somewhere out of sight. There was a crash as a foe was flung through a wall.  
“Don’t be rude, BTS!” Blue yelled back. She spun her earthshaker, slamming it into the floor at an angle. Energy rippled through the floor towards the Jiralhanae, knocking many of them over. More Jiralhanae exploded, grenades going off randomly.  
“Take cover!” someone yelled. “Brute shot!”  
Blue heard a scream, accompanied by an explosion from up ahead. She turned and sprinted towards the noise, bounding up onto a crate and leaping off, wings snapping open.  
Brutes were holding down the door at the other end of the warehouse; one of them was launching grenades from a heavy machine, forcing the Sangheili and human forces to retreat and take cover. A black scorch covered part of the ground, bits of what was once something living lying around.  
The Jiralhanae with the grenade launcher spotted her flying through the air; he aimed the weapon at her and fired. Three grenades flew at her.  
She cast a shield in front of her. The grenades exploded on impact with the bubble, leaving her unharmed. She hit the ground, earthshaker slamming against the floor. Energy pulsed from its tip, shockwave throwing the Jiralhanae down. She charged, leaping at the one with the Brute shot as he regained his balance.  
He roared, stabbing the weapon’s large bayonet at her. She parried it with her earthshaker, claws extending from between her knuckles. She punched, striking energy shields. The Jiralhanae struck her, knocking her back. She rolled, claws grabbing at the ground. The others started shooting at her, forcing her to run for cover.  
BTS barreled into the Jiralhanae from the left, taking advantage of their distraction. Fire poured from his mouth, consuming the doorway in heat. The Jiralhanae howled, fleeing or falling to the ground, consumed.  
“Brute shot guy got away!” he yelled. “I’ll take care of him!” he sprinted out the doorway and vanished.  
“Come on!” Blue yelled to the rest of her forces, slowly coming out of cover.  
“We’ve got injured!” one of the Marines said.  
“I can heal them,” Blue replied, running over. She skidded to the ground next to a Marine that had been shot and taken to cover by his friends.  
“Damn...Brutes,” he growled through his pain, hand over the wound on his side. Blue put her hand over his.  
“This might feel weird,” she cautioned. Energy flowed from her hand, around his, and into the wound, making fast work of damaged tissues.  
“Huh?” the Marine looked down, trying to figure out where his wound had got. “What’d you do?”  
“Magic,” Blue replied sarcastically. “I don’t have time to explain. You better get used to it, if you’re going to be around me.” She looked up. “Anyone else need healing?”  
~


	23. 1.22: The Glassing of Voi Pt. 2

1.22 - The Glassing of Voi Pt. 2

Blue did a few rounds, mostly to root out any injured Sangheili who were being war-hero dramatics and trying to hide the fact that they were wounded. There were quite a few.  
BTS came trotting back in, Brute shot in his mouth. “What’s taking you guys so long?”  
“We had some injured,” Blue replied. “Anyone want a Brute shot?”  
She shut her eyes for a moment, taking the chance to breathe. Healing people took a lot of energy.  
 _BTS, can you sustain the supercloak on your own?  
Of course. Duh._  
“I got shot at by a few of the Shades while chasing that Brute down,” the tiger said out loud. “I’ll cloak us while we go outside, so it’ll be easiest if y’all would bunch together, so I have the least space to cover...yeah, be friends. That’s right. Huddle up.”  
The humans and Sangheili seemed unhappy at having to be so close together, but BTS wasn’t giving quarter to anyone. In fact, Blue could tell he was entertained by the perceived level of awkward he had created. He trotted in a circle around the group, grinning gleefully.  
The Unggoy accompanying the Sangheili seemed less inclined to have an issue, bantering between each other. Blue saw one make a rude face at the back of Master Chief’s head.  
“Follow close,” BTS warned. “If you wander too far, you’ll leave the cloak, and then we’ll all be screwed.”  
Blue covered one of her eyes with a fairy-glass membrane. BTS’s energy appeared as a shimmering surface around her, distorting her view of what was beyond it, but this way she’d be able to capture anyone who was wandering towards the edge. A secondary sheet of shimmer, the actual cloak, wrapped around each individual who was within the outer layer, thin strands like spiderwebs running between them.  
The tiger trotted unworriedly into the open; the rest were nervous to follow. They couldn’t see the cloak to know what it was doing.  
BTS stopped, looking back at them. “They can’t see or hear us. Come on, we don’t have all day.”  
The Arbiter stepped forwards, walking up to BTS. The others followed his lead; once the Chief started moving as well, the Marines came too. Blue took up the rear, watching carefully to make sure nobody exited the cloak.  
“See? Nothing to it,” BTS chirped happily. “Just stay close. I’d lead you guys all the way up, but it’s tricky business, holding a cloak out in the air like this and not on a solid surface.”  
“I’ve heard of that active camo stuff y’all aliens use, but this is so far beyond that,” one of the Marines said. “Hah! You guys thought you were good.”  
The Sangheili started growling. Blue barked wordlessly at them, stopping the behavior. She arched her neck and glared disapprovingly at the Marine, who quickly looked away.  
“BTS and I have had a long time to develop our technologies,” she told them. “And I also have the intrinsic advantage of being an Ascendant. You cannot compare us to anything that is alive today.”  
“What’s your whole deal anyways?” the Chief asked. “You’re not one of the Covenant.”  
“I recently awoke from stasis,” Blue replied. “I belong to an ancient race that is extinct from the galaxy. Not the Forerunners. We were known as the Lupa. I told Cortana a bit about my history; she’ll fill you in later.”  
“Where is Cortana?” the Chief demanded. “You said she was in good hands, but good hands is a subjective statement.”  
“Later, later,” Blue pushed the question off. She couldn’t answer it, not in front of the aliens. They entered the next building over.  
“Tell me where she is,” the Chief demanded, rounding on her. Thankfully, there were Jiralhanae in the building, and BTS had her back, as always.  
“Dropping the cloak!” he called loudly. “Light up those furry shitheads!”  
Blue jumped away from the Chief, who was forced to turn and fight the Jiralhanae. The group quickly cleared the room, the element of surprise on their side.  
“Move up through here,” BTS urged. “This hall leads up the hill and will put us out right below that platform the turrets are on.”  
“We need to take out all the Shades and Wraiths before we can get to the Mantis turrets,” the Chief said. “We’re going to have a lower advantage on the Shades, but the Wraiths will be able to maneuver and pin us down.”  
“BTS can cloak us and get us up the platform,” Blue replied. “We’ll get behind all the Shades, take them out, and then deal with the Wraiths.” She ducked behind a crate, which exploded as plasma rounds burst through it. She quickly ran for different cover.  
“They’re holding the hallway!” BTS called. “They’ve got heavy shotguns of some sort. Also, they threw away all their grenades. Sorry, Blue.”  
“We’ve got some of our own!” Blue replied. “Someone get one in there!”  
She spotted one of the small explosives hurtle into the doorway; the following explosion was accompanied by angry howls. A frenzied, dying Brute burst into the room, firing his weapon in every which direction. He absorbed gunfire like a tank, charging into the stack of crates that some Sangheili and Unggoy were sheltering behind. One of the Unggoy was sent flying; he landed hard, but his shield had absorbed the crushing blow. It left him winded, but uninjured.   
Blue bounded across the open space, grabbing the downed Unggoy and pulling him into cover before he could be shot.  
“Methanks,” he gasped. “Shield stop Brute!”  
Not all the Unggoy were so lucky; Blue could see at least two of the small bodies next to the corpse of the Jiralhanae. She lowered her head.  
“It’s ok, Blue,” the Unggoy said, putting his hand on her forearm. “It’s ok. We do this!” He looked at the device on his shoulder, now dark and empty of energy. Blue passed her hand over it, and it recharged, glow returning.  
The hallway was still not clear, and whatever heavy shotgun the Jiralhanae had was keeping them pinned down. The clock was ticking.  
“Grenade out!” one of the Marines yelled. Blue watched the object soar through the doorway; it exploded without doing much damage.  
“The upwards slope of this hallway is preventing the grenades from reaching the Brutes!” the Arbiter declared. “We must figure out a different strategy!”  
“You, take these grenades and go bomb the Brutes,” one of the Sangheili was pushing two plasma grenades on an Unggoy. Blue held up her hand, shaking her head.  
“That won’t be necessary,” she said. “I cannot see far enough up that hallway to spot the Brutes, but I know that you will never make it to them. BTS, see if you can guess the right angle to send those grenades up the hallway telekinetically.”  
“I’ll try,” the black tiger promised, “but if you get it wrong, they’re probably gonna roll back down here.”  
“We’ll be ready to run away,” Blue replied. “Just do it.”  
BTS nodded and sat down next to her. Together, they scanned the hallway, exchanging trajectory information.  
The two grenades levitated out of the Sangheili’s hands. They flew up the hallway as if they had their own wings.  
Blue heard the Jiralhanae cry out in confusion at the floating grenades, and then they exploded.  
“One hit,” BTS reported. “The other ran into the wall. But it looks like we’ve got the heavy gunner down.”  
Blue blinked, covering an eye with snake-glass; thermal image showed the Brutes retreating.  
“We’re good,” she called. “Let’s move.”  
Leveling her earthshaker, she entered the hallway, ready to fire on anything that challenged her. The rest followed behind, guns up.  
BTS trotted to the front. “Group up, folks. It’s cloak time.”  
They paused to organize, bunching together. Blue stood next to BTS.  
“We’re good,” he said confidently. “Follow me.”  
They walked out of the building and into the open. Instinctively, many of the Marine and Sangheili brought their guns up upon seeing the heavily-armed contingent of Jiralhanae on the platform above, aiming their own weapons at the opening they just walked through.  
Blue spun around, hissing, “Hold your fire! They cannot see us!”  
“Are you sure?” one of the Marines muttered. “I sure as hell can see them!”  
There were more Jiralhanae guarding the stairs up to the platform. BTS turned around. “Alrighty, folks. We’re going to have to go single-file. Pretend it’s a gri-“ Blue glared at him, “-I mean conga line, because that’s literally how close you’re going to have to be.”  
Blue’s fairy-glass eye saw the energetic shimmer extend, forming a tunnel that wove between the Jiralhanae on the stairs. The black tiger went very, very still; he was concentrating hard to hold the line. His eyes got dimmer.  
“Follow me,” Blue instructed. “Walk exactly in my footsteps. I can see the edges of the cloak.”  
She started up the stairs, carefully edging around the Jiralhanae. Everyone else fell in behind her; whoever was directly behind was breathing really, really heavily. Probably freaked out by being so close to the Jiralhanae and somehow not being seen by them.  
The shimmer formed a blob at the top of the stairs, allowing the group to bunch up again, beneath the shadow of one of the massive turrets. BTS came last, walking very stiffly. The energy retracted behind him; he shook his head irritably, relaxing a bit once the stress had lessened.  
“Spread out a bit,” Blue ordered. “Choose yourself a target, and fire on my command.”  
Guns went up, the unaware backs of Jiralhanae and Shade operators the target.  
“Fire!” Blue ordered, and BTS dropped the cloak. The tiger slouched, eyes dimming.  
The Jiralhanae were shredded, struck with multiple shots in the back at once. Those who weren’t taken down immediately cried out in horror and confusion at their enemies just popping out of thin air.  
A Sangheili leapt at a Shade, jamming his weapon at the Jiralhanae operating it. He struck against energy shielding, but doggedly persisted, shooting down the shields and killing the operator. Without hesitation, he jumped inside and began using the Shade to shoot at the anti-air Wraiths.  
The Jiralhanae were coming at them from both sides, around the platform. Blue slammed her earthshaker into the ground, repressing the front lines on her side. BTS flew overhead, grabbing a Jiralhanae and flinging him off the platform.  
“Take over the Shades!” Blue encouraged. “Shoot down those Wraiths!”  
They were fast gaining hold of the platform. The Shades were firing on the Wraiths, which angrily fired back. Blue shot a bolt from her earthshaker at one, and it exploded. She kept trying to breathe in, trying to get enough compression in her armor to unleash another concussive blast, but she wasn’t getting any good opportunities. She ducked into cover, focusing on her breathing. A Jiralhanae strafed to the side of her cover, forcing her to give up the effort and shoot at him so he would back off.  
BTS roared, flying around and knocking more Jiralhanae from the platform. Once they were down on the ground, they ran to regroup, but couldn’t get up the stairs; the Sangheili had put down deployable cover, sheltering behind the shields to shoot down anyone who tried to ascend.  
Then, suddenly, all the Jiralhanae were gone from the platform; many still remained on the ground, and others had retreated into the building below them.  
“Start working on one of those turrets!” she heard someone order.   
“These weapons have a weak point through their heat vent. It is on the underside of the body of the turret,” she heard the Arbiter say. “Shoot it enough and it will be destroyed!”  
Blue heard someone cry out in pain.  
 _We’re starting to lose the backup shields...we need to finish this._  
BTS flew by, distracting some of the Wraiths. Blue reached her energy out; more Jiralhanae exploded randomly as their grenades went off; they hadn’t gotten the memo.  
There was another, louder explosion, and a big puff of smoke went up from the Mantis.  
“Turret down!” one of the Marines called. His victory was short lived; a metal bolt went through his chest and he fell with a cry. His friends dragged him into cover, but he was already gone.  
“Destroy that next one, and we are victorious!” the Arbiter ordered.  
 _You quite done yet?_ ‘Ayanam asked. _We are growing old up here._  
 _Almost. One turret is left._  
She shot down another Wraith, then swung her weapon down and shot more explosive bolts at the Jiralhanae on the ground. Return-fire glanced off her armor, shields absorbing the shots. She made for the nearest cover, behind the disabled turret.  
There was a closed door behind the turret, which some of the Jiralhanae had fled through. They hadn’t returned, or tried to hold the doorway. They’d gone deeper into the building, despite not being pursued.  
Blue frowned, reaching her mind out. She sensed the Jiralhanae far below, and read their thoughts.  
“It’s a trap!” she roared. “Everyone, to me!”  
“What?” her words were heard, in confusion.  
“To me!” she repeated, running along the platform to round everyone up. “They’ve got a bomb under the building-BTS, shield up! Aethon, lend me your strength!”  
Energy connected to her from the white ship, so far away. BTS joined his energies with hers, and a blue shield sprang up around them just as the platform exploded.  
They were consumed by fire. Not everyone had made it to the shielded area; they vanished within the inferno, screaming. Blue’s vision darkened, but BTS and Aethon were supporting it in full. The shield held, suspending the group in air as fire and dust roared around them. They were a bubble, completely surrounded by thrumming walls of fire and smoke, roaring like the call of some hellish demon.   
The smoke started to settle. Rubble clattered around them, bouncing off the top of the shield. The ground was now far below them, through the glowing blue floor. It was the center of a crater.   
“It was a trap,” Blue repeated, breathing hard. “I read their minds. If they couldn’t hold us off, they were going to go down with us. They knew who’d be coming for them. Truth took all of his ships with him, stranding them. This was their only purpose.”  
It took the combined effort of her, BTS, and Aethon to levitate the bubble to the edge of the crater. They set down and dropped the shields; the draconic sat down heavily, drooping. BTS flopped to the ground next to her.  
 _Blue? Blue!_ ‘Ayanam was trying to contact her.  
 _We’re alive. It was a trap._ She shut her eyes. The smoke of the air was thick enough to block out the sun. Her insides gnawed emptily.  
 _We saw the explosion! Part of the city has become a smoldering crater.  
We got the turrets, though.  
Good. We’re sending extraction ships._  
“Foolish bastards,” the Arbiter said triumphantly. “They have only destroyed themselves.”  
“They’ve destroyed more than just themselves,” the Chief replied angrily. “Look around you.”  
“We’re being extracted,” Blue announced, adding to the bad news. “The Jiralhanae are going to be glassed.”  
“May those bastards burn!” the Sangheili celebrated. The Chief and the Marines, however, looked upset.  
“You can’t just glass the city!” one protested. “You already blew part of it up!”  
“It’s for the sake of time,” Blue repeated heavily. “We need to stop Truth. We don’t have time to chase out the rest of the Brutes on foot.”  
“Then leave some people behind, to defeat the rest of them!” he reasoned.  
Blue passed the suggestion to ‘Ayanam.  
 _You’re being extracted. Stop complaining._ She shook her head unhappily. “Not…my decision.”  
 _Don’t be like this! We need to befriend the humans, not glass them!_  
No room for debate. We will bring you to the Shadow of Intent. We are meeting aboard the ship.  
~


	24. 1.23: Onto the Ark

1.23: Onto the Ark

They were admitted through a hangar in the rear. The Phantom landed, letting them out. Blue exited, greeting the Sangheili and Unggoy in the hangar with them with professional reserve. Inside, she was livid. The Sangheili had glassed most of the city, leaving the place uninhabitable.  
“The others have gathered in the bridge,” they were told. “They require your presence.”  
“I’m on my way,” Blue promised, both in words and over telepathy to ‘Ayanam.  
Even running, it took a bit to get to the bridge from the rear of the massive ship. The thing was over three miles long. It had its own damn nature preserve.  
The bridge was under heavy guard, but nobody challenged their approach. They were admitted through the doorway, BTS trotting behind Blue like a very large, very dangerous dog. The Arbiter and the Chief came after her. The Spartan was routinely ignoring all the hostile glances.  
The room was full of humans and Sangheili, gathered around a long, holographic table. ‘Vadum was floating on a gravity throne at the far end, guarded by other Sangheili. ‘Tusam and ‘Ayanam stood with him, though their lack of gravity thrones clearly stated who was the boss.  
‘Ayanam made eye contact with her when she entered. _You are angry. I suggest you restrain yourself.  
Shut up. You’re one to talk._  
Some human officials that Blue had yet to meet were standing at the middle of the table, watching them enter.  
“Ascendant Blue,” ‘Vadum greeted her. “Savior of our holy city. Arbiter.” He greeted ‘Vadam as well.  
Blue bowed her head, touching her fingers between her eyes. “Shipmaster ‘Vadum. Shipmaster ‘Tusam, Shipmaster ‘Ayanam.”  
There was an unexpected guest floating above the table: “Greetings, Blue!”  
“Spark!” she exclaimed, spirits lifting by the unexpected reunion. “Fancy meeting you here. I’m glad to see you in one piece.” Her faint guilty conscience hoped he didn’t realize she was the one who had temporarily silenced him to keep him from telling the Hierarchs too much.  
“It is good to see you again, Blue” the Monitor said. “We are discussing very important things!”  
“This is Fleet Admiral Lord Hood and Commander Miranda Keyes,” ‘Vadum told her, gesturing to the humans. “They say you have something very important of theirs. Something you,” he leaned forwards on his throne, “didn’t tell us about.”  
“With all due respect, Shipmaster,” Blue replied, head up high, “I think you’re forgetting who is in charge here. Your ships may be operating under your free will, but that is because of the grace of the Council, and of the Five, which I am a part of. What I do is in everyone’s good intentions.” She wasn’t about to yield to pressure, especially from ‘Vadum, who had, in her opinion, just unnecessarily glassed a city.   
“You withheld critical knowledge from us!” ‘Vadum said angrily. “That AI could have taken down High Charity and killed us all!”  
“No, she couldn’t have,” Blue responded coolly. “Aethon isolated her as fast as he could. While she seems to be the best AI humanity has to offer, the might of my ship’s coremind turned out to be greater. And nothing can be withheld from me.” She tapped her temple with a claw.  
 _I know everything Cortana knows. I saw into her mind._ While ‘Vadum never replied using the transmitter he’d been given, he did listen.  
“Anyways, please continue,” Blue said, gesturing to the gathered crowd. “Do not let me interrupt this important discussion.” Her told made it clear that she didn’t want to discuss Cortana any further.  
“First, hand over that AI that you stole,” Lord Hood ordered.  
Blue rolled her eyes. “I didn’t steal her. She,” she purposely looked at the Chief, “got left behind, and decided to try and hack my ship and harm millions of innocent civilians by shutting our oxygen off.”  
“Give her up!” Lord Hood barked. “None of this hogwash!”  
The draconic reached to her belt and removed the flash-drive and the holograph. She put them together and slid the thing into the center of the table. Cortana’s image appeared above the device.  
“You were carrying it on your person the whole time?” ‘Vadum asked, incredulous.  
“Chief!” was the first thing the AI said, spotting the Spartan.  
“Cortana,” he greeted her calmly.  
“As you can see, she’s fine,” Blue told the room. “You can ask her yourself. I tried my best to be good company.”  
“Blue is the most enjoyable of company,” Spark agreed. “Though I would dearly like to talk to ‘Refumee again…I heard he is aboard your sacred city! I hope to see him soon.”  
“Sesa ’Refumee?” the Arbiter’s head shot up. “On High Charity? Impossible! He fell into the depths of the gas giant; you saw him jump. He is dead!”  
Blue grimaced, showing teeth. He doesn’t know! While the Arbiter had been down on Earth, ‘Refum had been pardoned. Of course nobody had told him; how could they have? They too all thought he was dead. It took way too long for Blue to calm the Council down after they’d found out she’d saved him. Even then, he was just barely pardoned by their vote, and was still restricted from leaving the base, along with the rest of his crew. A little more than glorified prisoners.  
“Turns out those heretics were actually right,” Blue spoke up, crossing her arms. “I too received his broadcasts, though I ignored them at the time because their source was unknown. After coming to High Charity, my ship had the thankful insight to actually look into the message, and that’s how we found out the Covenant was trying to activate Halo.”  
‘Vadam was looking rightfully upset; he had technically failed a very important mission. But at the same time, she could tell he thought that raid on the gas mine had been strange, not a single enemy encountered. And ‘Refum’s “death” had been even stranger. He’d seen ‘Refum fall; the ships had tracked the heat signature deep into the atmosphere. Everyone thought he was dead. But now it made sense.  
“How did you know there was going to be a raid on the gas mine?” he then demanded. “That information was classified!”  
“I’m an accomplished telepathic,” Blue said for what felt like the ten thousandth time. “And I was already gathering intel because I believed that the Hierarchs were up to something fishy. It’s not my place to sit back and be passive when terrible things are afoot, not when I have been blessed with the power to stop them.”  
“It’s not your fault,” BTS spoke up. “It’s nothing personal either.”  
Blue glared down at the tiger. “Hush. You’re absolutely horrible at reassurance, so don’t even try.” She herself was trying not to fidget nervously.  
BTS flattened his ears. “Gosh. Fine.”  
The humans were very politely sitting through the argument, though Blue could tell they were eagerly grabbing onto any bits of intel they could use.  
“You have usurped your position, eavesdropped on private conversations, disrupted classified missions, and assisted sworn enemies,” ‘Vadum was now talking, and he didn’t sound very happy. “But you did act with good intentions in mind, it would seem. Because of your actions, millions of lives were saved. We may save the entire galaxy, yet.”  
Blue exhaled the nervous breath she was holding. “As I said before, I always act with everyone’s good intentions in mind. I will add as well, that gas mine ‘Refum hid out in was infested by Flood. I arrived before your ships, picked up everyone with Aethon, and proceeded to disinfect the entire structure. Had I not done so, many of your people would have died to that scourge.”  
‘Vadum nodded knowingly. “We saw the marks on the walls, but never a single spore of the parasite. We must thank you for that, then.”  
Blue inclined her head. “I am nothing but a humble servant to this galaxy. I gladly give my service.” It was a bit sarcastic.  
“Let’s continue, shall we?” Lord Hood spoke up in the following silence, wanting to get on with the planning. Time was short.  
‘Vadum nodded in agreement. “Our fight is through that portal,” he picked up the conversation where it had ended off, “with the Brutes and that bastard, Truth!”  
The surrounding Sangheili roared in agreement, fists in the air, making the humans look around nervously. Blue crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrow.  
“What’s on the other side of the portal?” Lord Hood wanted to know. “It could be an elaborate trap, for all we know.”  
“It leads to the Ark,” Blue said. “Do you know what that is?”  
“I know!” Spark was like a gleeful schoolkid, interrupting Commander Keyes’ response. “My knowledge was limited by my creators, but I do know that the Ark is a superstructure from which all Arrays can be fired safely. It also contains production facilities, and biological containment units, that did you know-” he broke into a series of pointless factoids.   
“That is good for now, Oracle,” ‘Vadum cut the Monitor off. “Thank you for your explanation.”  
“So you mean that bastard worm is going to try and fire the Array from there?” Lord Hood asked incredulously. Blue nodded.  
“He must be stopped!” the Admiral declared. “He will destroy us all if he is not!”  
“We can amass a powerful force, together,” Blue said. “Truth must be stopped, but he also has something I’d like very much to get back. The Forerunner Dreadnought belongs to High Charity and its people, and I will have it back, in one piece.”  
“We will go through that portal and destroy all who dare to face us,” ‘Vadum declared. “We will get the Dreadnought back.”  
“Truth will be waiting for us,” Blue cautioned. “As soon as we are through, I propose we surround the Jiralhanae fleets and burn them from the sky. With most of High Charity’s fleets still intact, we will have many ships at our disposal. The Dreadnought must come to no harm, however. Anyone who fires upon that ship will have me to answer to.”  
She could tell the humans were getting shifty; if she wanted the Dreadnought so badly, they knew something was unique about it.  
“We will provide cover from above, and forces will go to the surface of the Ark and stop Truth once and for all,” ‘Vadum said. “Any human ships are welcome to aid us.”  
“We will provide what we can,” Lord Hood promised. “But it’s hard to send away our defensive ships when there’s a second moon circling Earth, armed with enough guns to blow us to pieces, and after you just glassed half of Africa!”  
“One city is not half of Africa,” Spark advised. “That is a gross overstatement.”  
“It was necessary, for the sake of time,” ‘Vadum replied. “Just be thankful we did not glass when we first got here, while you people were still running from the Brutes.”  
“I can send High Charity farther away,” Blue said. “It won’t fit through the portal, but I can have them wait somewhere less threatening.”   
“That’ll make me feel better,” Lord Hood muttered, though Blue could tell it was sarcastic. Just knowing the giant station was floating around nearby was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.  
“I’ll be wherever I’m needed,” Blue told the room. “Cortana can communicate with me, so if you need me, she’ll call. I will go get the Dreadnought myself, though I’ll need plenty of help to come with me.”  
“Help will be provided,” ‘Vadum promised.  
“BTS and I are ready,” the draconic replied confidently. “We should go with haste. Time is short before Truth comes to fire the Rings.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They led the charge through the slipspace portal, Blue and BTS aboard the Shadow of Intent. The trip was not instant, but by the end, their energy was gathered, ready to throw the supercloak in front of the ships. Their arrival would be completely undetected, save for any ships that had slipspace detection technology. Blue didn’t quite know how to counter those, and didn’t have the time to figure it out. But they couldn’t shoot at what they didn’t see.  
“Good food?” BTS asked.  
“Yeah,” she muttered around the bowl of whatever alien dish she was inhaling. Once she had consumed a few pounds, she felt revived and ready to fight.  
Space appeared on the other side. Blue connected her energies with BTS, and reached out for Aethon.  
 _Aethon? Aethon? A-A…_  
She couldn’t feel the white ship. She couldn’t hear him. He was too far away.  
Rushing filled her ears, and she felt her knees weaken. _Aethon!_  
“Blue!” BTS growled. “Pull it together!”  
“I can’t reach Aethon,” she stammered. “W-where are we?”  
She spread the cloak out in front of them, ships emerging concealed; the side of the cloak facing them shimmered across the blackness of space.   
Without Aethon, she felt like part of her was suddenly missing. Her insides felt freezing cold. She had nothing to recharge from except BTS and whatever energy sources they could find on the ships and the Ark. The vast emptiness of space suddenly seemed to matter.  
The ships quickly moved away from the portal as they came through, leaving room for the others, and leaving the zone the Jiralhanae ships would most likely fire upon, if they had detected the slipspace approach.  
The supercloak required was massive, but BTS was holding most of the brunt, saving Blue’s energies. They wouldn’t be able to hold it for long, if they wanted to keep BTS out of a negative energy balance. Without Aethon’s extensive power stores, they were missing massive potential. Blue’s chest felt like it was crossed by spikes.  
 _Looks like the Dreadnought is landed on the Ark. We’ll search it out once space is safe,_ ‘Ayanam told her.  
 _That’ll be soon, I hope._  
‘Ayanam’s small fleet was going to try and search out the Dreadnought, once the Jiralhanae fleet had been incapacitated. The high number of Zealots aboard the Fearless Wander were the best sort of people for finding and figuring out Forerunner relics.  
 _If Truth could fly that thing, so can we...hopefully._  
The UNSC forces were going to ground, covered by the Sangheili ships. They’d hunt out Truth and stop his madness once and for all.  
BTS and Blue flexed the supercloak, forming it into a rough semicircle. Their ships were slowly sneaking into place.  
“They’re not moving fast enough!” Blue gasped. “I can’t hold it!” _Not without Aethon!_ The raw output required was too much for her to sustain for this long. She hadn’t expected to not be able to reach the white ship.  
“Blue!” BTS roared. “Stand your ground!”  
The draconic’s knees gave out, and she collapsed. Energy surged from the metal tiger, trying to make up for what she’d stopped giving. He couldn’t do it. The cloak flickered and died.  
“Fire! Fire at will!” ‘Vadum roared, to his ship and the others, as soon as he saw the cloak drop.   
They salvaged as much of the element of surprise as the could, but not all of the ships were in position yet. The Jiralhanae fleet was hit by only about half of what they had.  
BTS grabbed Blue’s arm in his mouth, rearing up and pulling her to her feet. The tiger held her like a rag doll, towering over her as she dangled from his mouth.  
“Let me go!” she squalled, getting her feet back. “We need to get out there!”  
“You need to stop being such a wimp,” he snapped back. “You survived plenty without Aethon or me.”  
“I know,” Blue hissed, in undertone. “It’s-it’s just...It hurts so much…”  
“Physical pain is meaningless,” he replied. “If you don’t struggle, you don’t succeed.”  
Blue took her arm out of his mouth, feeling anger start to churn in her stomach. “Easy for you to say. Outside. Now.”  
They ran to the nearest exit, ship shook by the explosions and turmoil around them. Blue grabbed BTS’s shoulders, and he jumped through the energy barrier.  
Space was a mess, though the Ark itself looked very pretty, far below them like a strange body, as if someone had taken the skin off a planet and laid it in the sky like a giant orange peel. There was a glow of light, floating above; an artificial sun of some sort. The light and heat washed gently over them and Blue thankfully linked into its warm energies.  
“What’s the deal?” she asked BTS. She spoke out loud, but the tiger didn’t hear her, because there is no air in space. She grumbled, pinching the bridge of her long nose. _That was dumb.  
What’s the deal, BTS?  
Thirty-ish ships, I think? _he replied. _We outnumber them, gleefully so. We don’t even need the humans to help fight them!  
Our goal is to guard the Fearless Wander at all costs,_ Blue said. _Get us over there._  
~


	25. 1.24: The Heist Pt.1

1.24: The Heist Pt. 1

The frigate was sheltering behind the larger warships, firing opportunistically but keeping out of the way of major harm. They were focused on scanning the surface of the Ark, finding the Dreadnought.  
BTS blended in with the dark sky, and the two of them were so small anyways they were barely visible. They were only shot at once or twice, if at all, and they moved too fast to hit.  
 _Cruiser, to our right,_ Blue called. _Get to the surface; let’s steal ourselves a ship._  
BTS turned, thrusters firing. The ship, engaged with the more worrisome Sangheili fleet, didn’t notice when the two landed on the exterior.  
 _‘Ayanam! I’m going to take over this ship; please don’t damage it too much._  
She and BTS crawled along the exterior, searching for a way in.   
_Hangar bays, near the back. The energy barriers over them are rock-hard.  
How’re we gonna get through?_  
They’d crawled to the port-rear of the ship, now overlooking one of the hangar bays. BTS jumped off the ship, engines firing. Blue saw his figure warp into hyperspace.  
An instant later, he reappeared, far away. He barreled towards the ship, shields forming a conical shape around him. His head was lowered, white stripes along the top of his ridged cranium glowing.  
Blue drew her earthshaker from her back. Energy gathered around the tip as she watched BTS approach, eyes slitted.  
She stabbed her weapon into the barrier at the same moment he hit it, imparting both the energy of the weapon and his momentum into the barrier. The barrier broke, flashing out of existence as the metal tiger went tumbling through. Blue jumped in after him, covering him as he struggled to regain his balance after the terrific impact. The barrier reformed behind them, energies recharged.  
But there wasn’t much work to do; all the nearest enemies in the hangar had gotten sucked out into the vacuum of space. The next nearest group were still gasping for air, stunned. Blue made quick work of them.  
“Whoa,” BTS was back on his feet, shaking his head. “Those things can take a beating.”  
“We’ll celebrate later,” Blue replied, shooting at some Jiralhanae who were scurrying along the level above them.  
“There’s got to be thousands of people on this ship,” BTS called. “Are you really gonna take the time to kill them all?”  
“No,” Blue replied. “We need to get to the command center. From there, we’ll be able to hack into the ship and shut down all the exterior barriers. Space will do our work for us.”  
“Time to run aimlessly through hallways with no idea where the hell we’re going,” the tiger muttered sarcastically.  
“You forgot I can read minds,” Blue replied. “I already know how to get there.”  
She ducked behind a Banshee, sheltering, taking a moment to telekinetically activate the Jiralhanae’s grenades. BTS followed her, looking around.  
“Through here,” Blue told him, pointing to a metal door. It opened when they approached; white light meant unlocked.  
There were more Jiralhanae up the hallway; Blue moved like lightning and cut them down. The control center of the ship was centralized, thankfully not too far from them.  
“To the left!” BTS called. Blue dodged the shots that came at them as Jiralhanae emerged from the room to their left, rolling to the ground and out of the way. BTS’s growls told her he had the situation under control.  
More explosions, from further back. Something exploded outside, shaking the ship.  
“We need to move before we get shot down!” Blue called. “Come on, BTS!”  
She continued weaving through the hallways, calculating multiple routes in her head, often having to take them since doors were locked. Soon, she realized all the doors were locked.  
“They know we’re coming for the ship,” BTS said. “They’ve locked us out of the control room.”  
“Well, these doors can be hacked,” Blue said with a shrug. “Or broken through. Let’s get to it.”  
BTS sniffed around the walls until he found the circuits leading to the door; he ripped the casing off the wall, exposing the alien wiring.  
“Good thing we had so much time aboard High Charity, to learn about Covenant technology,” he chirruped. “This’ll take a few minutes…”  
The tiger connected himself into the circuitry, hacking the door. Blue took up position behind him, guarding his rear.  
“It’d be helpful if you hacked with me,” he called. “These things are complicated.”  
“I’m guarding your ass right now,” Blue replied. “Unless you’d like your ass to be plasma-fried?”  
BTS grumbled to himself and didn’t reply.   
Blue lifted her weapon, sensing enemies approaching. They rounded the corner and met the onslaught of her offense. She shot down one, leaping forwards. The blades along the edges of her wings extended and she slashed them around her, cutting through metal and skin. She struck against energy shields; there was a Jiralhanae Major with the group that had shields strong enough to resist her. She was struck in the chest by his fist, and went flying backwards.  
Energy flew from her outstretched hand, striking the Major in the face. His shields went down, and another shot finished him off.  
“Done,” BTS called. The door opened.  
He turned around, spotting the pile of dead Jiralhanae. “Oh. I didn’t notice them.”  
“Plasma-fried ass,” Blue muttered at him, picking herself up off the ground.  
They ran through the door and into the control room. There were Jiralhanae on the other side of the door, waiting for them. Blue dodged right, seeking cover. She stabbed her earthshaker into the Jiralhanae in her way and blasted him apart.  
“Kig-Yar! Above!” BTS called. A purple needle had bounced off his head and exploded. Blue heard him snarling as he engaged the Jiralhanae on the floor.  
“Kill the creature!” she could also hear the shipmaster roaring.  
“They’ve thrown away their grenades!” BTS called. “They got the memo!”  
Blue shot down two Jiralhanae that approached her. Her earthshaker was beginning to flash a light on the shaft, meaning it was low on power. She’d need to take a moment to recharge it from her own energy, or find another weapon.  
There were plenty of the latter. She grabbed a plasma rifle from one of the dead Jiralhanae. Aiming with it felt very weird after constantly staring down the longer shaft of the earthshaker, but it would have to do.  
She broke from cover, sprinting across a corner of the room. She jumped, aiming inwards, and slammed her earthshaker down, expending the last of its power to send out a massive shockwave that shook the floor, knocking the Jiralhanae down. One of the Kig-Yar snipers lost his balance and fell from his perch, landing on the ground with a cry.  
Blue threw her earthshaker back into its sheath, weapon telescoping down between her shoulders. It could recharge from contact with her armor, but she had shut that function off. She needed all her power for herself.  
She lifted the plasma rifle, which was very large on her not-Jiralhanae-sized frame. She fired rapidly, trigger locked down, shooting the Jiralhanae before they could get back up.   
_Ah!_ The weapon faltered, shutting down. Vents opened on the sides, letting out heat.  
 _They overheat? Oh, for goodness sakes..._ she snarled, fighting claws extending from between the knuckles of her free hand. As she waited for the weapon to cool down, she jumped on top of another Jiralhanae, who was just getting back to his feet. The blades struck against energy shields; she was thrown off. But her rifle had cooled down by then, and two shots to the chest finished the guy off.  
She turned, sighting in another one of the Kig-Yar snipers. He went down, shot in the head.  
BTS was bouncing around, energy bolts shooting from his turret. He jumped up into the air, wings out, engines firing, and soared straight through the holographs surrounding the Jiralhanae shipmaster, knocking him from his platform.  
The shipmaster fell, roaring angrily. He landed, rolled, and got back up to his feet, hefting a gravity hammer into the air. Blue nimbly jumped away from him, avoiding the deadly weapon’s reach. She fired away, snarling when the plasma rifle overheated again.  
 _Damn useless weapon! Faulty design! Pathetic!_ She stabbed a Jiralhanae through the neck with her fighting claws.  
BTS was still on the platform, dealing with the shipmaster’s bodyguards. The bodyguard’s plasma rifles suddenly exploded.  
“Hold the vents shut and it blows up,” he called. “Wouldn’t do it while you’re holding it, though, which is the problem.”  
The tiger suddenly shrieked, stumbling back and digging his claws into the ground. The shipmaster was waving his gravity hammer at him, apparently trying to pull him off the platform. Blue leapt, pushing off the wall and soaring overhead, energy flying from her hands. It hit the Jiralhanae, knocking him off of BTS. The tiger fled, shaking his head angrily.  
Blue landed on the other side of the platform, grabbing another weapon from the ground, a Spiker. She aimed and fired at the shipmaster, striking energy shields.  
“They’re coming from the hallways!” BTS yelled. “They’re going to try and break down the doors!”  
“We need to get control of this damn ship!” Blue yelled back, circling around the shipmaster. “Then I have a plan!”  
The shipmaster roared, charging her. She fired, his shields shattering, bolts sinking through his skin, but he kept coming, in a berserk rage.  
 _Eek!_ She leapt out of the way too late, hammer clipping one of her feet. She went spinning across the room, howling angrily. She smacked into a wall; the blade on the Spiker went through and stuck, holding her above the ground. She held on determinedly, shaking the pain from her foot. Even with her shields, the hefty impact had a lot of power behind it; an unshielded person could’ve kissed that foot good-bye.  
The shipmaster aimed his gravity hammer at her, and she felt herself getting dragged down, arms straining. She roared, getting BTS’s attention. He turned, dropping a dead Kig-Yar from his jaws. Charging, he ran at the shipmaster, energy building around him. The Jiralhanae turned, and BTS smacked into a solid wall of weird-gravity-manipulation-forces, but the action freed Blue and she spread her wings, flying to safety. Turning in air, she shot at him again, but his shields were back up.  
Either way, the shipmaster was beginning to sway, blood running fast from his multiple wounds. BTS snarled, turret firing energy bolts that splattered against his shields.  
Blue could hear the Jiralhanae banging on one of the doors. The ship shook, lights flickering a little. Outside, they were being shot at, the other Jiralhanae ships having received transmissions about her arrival.  
“BTS!” she roared. “Get to the controls and figure out how to work this thing. Hack whatever you need to. I’ll finish off this guy.”  
“Rodger dodger!” he replied, and leapt away, up onto the holographic platform. Blue dove, blades extending from her feet so it looked like she had velociraptor claws. She swung her feet around, kicking at the back of the shipmaster’s head. His shields blocked the blade, but it distracted him from the black tiger.  
The Spiker clicked; it was out of ammo. Blue threw it, blade first, at the shipmaster. He blocked it with his gravity hammer, but his movements were becoming slow.  
“I’m in the system!” BTS yelled. “Well, parts of it. What do you want me to do about the guys outside the doors?”  
“We’re going to let them in,” Blue replied, flying out of reach of the shipmaster. She inhaled, compression chambers on the back of her neck filling.   
“What?” BTS questioned.  
 _Get yourself two guns and stand in front of the door. They’ll be all nice and packed together for you. They won’t expect the door to open._  
“Ooooh.” BTS nodded and jumped down from the platform. “You want to finish off Mr. Crazy already?”  
“Working on it,” Blue replied. “It’s just kinda hairy, dealing with that hammer.” The plates along the back of her neck were standing on end, compression chambers working hard.   
BTS walked over some downed Jiralhanae and kicked through their weapons until he found two plasma rifles. The black tiger suddenly reared, joints on his hind legs and hips rotating. His front paws unfolded into hands; he knelt and picked up the rifles, which were near to correctly sized for him. He strode over to the door, steps heavy. His shoulders and chest cracked, metal plates sliding around until the tiger was completely bipedal.  
The shipmaster finally fell, legs giving out as he continued to attempt to chase Blue around the room. She landed, approaching. Anger flared in his dying eyes, and he attempted to lift his hammer one, last time.  
Blue waved her hand, flinging an arc of energy at him. It struck his wrist, shattering it. He dropped his hammer with a howl, bringing his hand to his chest. She lunged, fighting claws extending from her knuckles, and drove them through his chest, finally ending his life.  
She bowed her head. “You were a talented fighter. I am sorry you were on the wrong side of this.” She didn’t know if the words had reached his ears before he went, but she hoped they had.  
“Done with the sappy ceremonies?” BTS called. “These guys are going to compromise the door soon.” He was fiddling with the two rifles he had; a thin welding laser was buzzing from his jaws and welding the heat vents shut.  
“Going, going,” Blue grumbled, jumping up onto the platform. The ship shuddered, impacted from the outside by more gunfire.  
She put her hands on the console, letting her mind enter the system. She felt it extend away from her, controls for everything visible in her mind’s eye. She accessed the door controls.  
“Get ready,” she cautioned. “3...2...1...fire!”  
She unlocked and opened the door suddenly; BTS fired at the Jiralhanae on the other side. They fell back in surprise; the plasma rifles flew out of the tiger’s hands and through the door, vents melted shut and triggers jammed. They continued to fire and exploded on the other side.   
BTS lifted a hand. “Close your nose!”  
He threw a speck of some brownish liquid into the hallway while frantically gesturing for Blue to shut the door. She did, but not before the sound of awful retching could be heard from the other side.  
“What did you do?” she asked, eyes wide.  
“You know how I’m usually not very good at synthesizing things, right?” he said. There was a small panel open on his shoulder, a miniaturized fabricator. He put his hand over it and the machine receded. “Well, I’ve been practicing a few, well, fun compounds. Have you ever heard of thioacetone?”  
“Oh my goodness,” Blue muttered. “I cannot believe you.”  
“Well, it’s working,” the tiger said with a shrug. “Thermal shows all those big, tough apes running away from the stink like middle school girls fleeing from a bee.”  
At that moment, they became aware of much weaker, quieter retching occurring in the back of the room. Blue jumped around; she spotted the body of one of the Kig-Yar snipers, shaking weakly as his stomach reacted badly to the horrible smell. It was the one she’d knocked from his perch when she’d struck the earthshaker to the floor; he’d fallen, badly injured, but was still alive.  
BTS growled, dropping back to all fours and stalking towards the creature. He cried out in fear when he saw the tiger coming, trying to drag himself away. His legs didn’t appear to be functional.  
“BTS! Stand down!” Blue ordered, jumping from the platform and striding over. “Go patch us into the rest of the fleet, can you? Oh, and I’ll need to access the intercom.”  
The Kig-Yar was cowering on the ground, shaking. Blue knelt next to him.  
“I can heal you,” she said. “You have to promise me you won’t attack us, though.”  
He nodded feverishly, one hand covering his nostrils. “P-please...and get r-rid of that s-smell…”  
Blue nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but relaxed when he felt his bones knitting together.  
She exhaled, slowly letting the air out of her armor. A gentle wind started up in the room, carrying away the air with the awful scent. Meanwhile, the rest of it had spread through the entire ship, incapacitating everyone aboard.  
“Natural filtration will have the chemical clear in under five minutes,” BTS reported. “‘Ayanam responded to hailing. He said they think they’ve found the Dreadnought, and we’re to escort him. This ship has sustained exterior damage, though, it appears. I don’t know if we’ll keep this thing the whole way through.”  
Blue finishing healing the Kig-Yar. “T-thank you…” he gasped, slowly sitting up.   
“What’s your name?” Blue asked.  
“Rem,” he replied. He was looking around nervously; Blue could tell he was considering trying to grab a weapon.  
She shook her head. “Don’t even think about it, Rem. You won’t survive, not alone.”  
He jumped, looking up at her fearfully. “D-don’t hurt me...please.”  
“I won’t hurt you if you don’t try to hurt us,” she repeated. “I’ll let you back into the hallway so you can rejoin your crew. I’m going to evacuate the air from the ship, though, so you’ll have to make it to the brig in time. I’m going to make an announcement over the intercom and then seal the brig after some time has passed.”  
Rem’s eyes got wide. “You’re going to evacuate the ship...but you’re going to warn everyone?” He seemed confused.   
Blue nodded. “There’s no need to kill the entire crew. The brig will hold them, and anyways if they break out, they’ll all die from lack of oxygen.”  
Rem looked away. “O-okay…”  
“You can stay here, with us too,” Blue offered. “If you want to join our side. Remember, though, I can read your mind. If you plan on betraying us, even for a second, I’ll throw you out.”  
Rem shook his head. “No! No! I can stay here, and be very good. Better than going in the brig with all the crew…how will we fit?”  
“I doubt many of them are actually going to go for the brig,” she grumbled bitterly, ascending the platform.  
She patched into the intercom, speakers going live. “May I have your attention. I have taken control of his ship and will be evacuating the air via the exterior barriers when this countdown reaches zero. At that point, I will seal the brig, keeping the air inside of that room only. If you wish to survive, head to that place. If not, continue as you wish. The countdown starts now.” she set the timer for five minutes, in seconds, numbers blaring in monotone over the intercom.  
BTS was observing the ship through snake-glass. “Well, you’ve created quite a scene. They’re all fighting over whether or not to go to the brig. A bunch of them are coming back here. Huh, I guess they found masks or something to filter the smell.”  
“There are probably spacesuits or whatever on the ship somewhere,” Blue said. “Rem?”  
“Huh?” he didn’t even answer, she pulled the information from his mind.  
“I’m going to selectively lock doors so these people can’t get to them,” she said. “Brig, people, brig.”  
“Yeah, not a lot of them are going,” BTS reported. “Hey, at least you tried.”  
Blue crossed her arms over her chest. “I hate this warfare of no surrender...But what can I do?” She shook her head and shrugged. “Let’s deal with some of these bogies flying around...and get to escorting ‘Ayanam.”  
“What do you think would happen if we told all the other ships about Halo?” BTS asked. “Ya’know, for maximum confusion and disorder.”  
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” she replied, considering. “Help me patch into the other ships. We’ll send them the footage of Spark.”  
“What about Halo?” Rem asked.  
“Turns out, Halo is a galactic superweapon of last resort against the Flood,” Blue replied. “I had no idea the Covenant meant to fire Halo until after I’d joined them. I kept on the low-down after I found out, because I wasn’t going to be able to stop them alone.”  
Rem scratched his head nervously. “Ya, I never got much of their religion. They paid, the work wasn’t too bad, so I didn’t have a problem. Yeah, the Forerunners sound great and all, but was I ever gonna meet ‘em?” he shrugged and shook his head. “It seemed pointless to me. ‘Great Journey?’ Isn’t that what life is already?”  
Blue nodded, channeling the simple truth of those words, despite the fact the smaller alien was just ad-libbing to try and save his own skin. “Well said, Rem. Well said.”  
“You’re patched in,” BTS called. “Give ‘em hell.”  
~


	26. 1.25: The Heist Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people may be wondering why I'm all of a sudden taking this four-year-old story and throwing it up here. Why I'm doing the same thing with other old works. Truth is, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep writing creatively once I graduate college, because my next step is vet school. And for anyone unfamiliar with medical or vet school professional programs, they're said to be like drinking from a fire hose. Once I go down that road, I'm going to be incredibly busy and probably not in a good mindset for writing. I'm really excited to go, but I know there will have to be some compromises. I love writing, and I write for myself, my hobby. But on the off chance that someone else might love my writing too, I want to put it out there. And even if not, it's my legacy in this art. Simple as that.

1.25: The Heist Pt. 2

Blue put her hands on the console, feeling the connections spreading away from her ship, to the others, including her own fleet, so they’d know what she was doing. She took a breath and spoke. “Ships of Truth’s fleet, heed my words! You have been lied to, lied to by the Prophets! Halo is a lie! Hear these words of the Oracle, as he explains it. Halo is a superweapon; it will kill us all! Turn away from the treacherous Truth, who would lead you to blind slaughter, I urge you!”   
She pulled Spark’s footage from her mind and sent it to the ships, including the intercom of her own fleet. “If you surrender and join us, you will be spared. If you do not, you will be utterly destroyed, as you leave us with no choice. The decision is all yours. Please, I beg you to listen, and reconsider. Thank you.”  
She pulled away from the console, and immediately contacted the shipmasters of her own fleet. _If anyone makes me to be a liar, and does not spare those who surrender to us will have to answer to me. And I promise it will not be pretty._  
She hoped she had enough command of them to at least be partially respected.  
 _Blue, this is ‘Ayanam. We have located the Dreadnought. Sending coordinates to you.  
Coordinates received. Ready to escort._  
“You’ve never piloted something this big, have you?” BTS asked dubiously.  
Blue shrugged. “I did a few simulations while on Reidar. We’ll see how this goes.”  
Rem was standing nervously, looking at one of the exit doors. Someone was banging on the other side.  
“See what they want,” Blue told BTS. “We can’t have these doors compromised, unless you want to lose oxygen.”  
“But we don’t need-” he began to protest, and then remembered Rem was with them. “Oh, right.”  
While he trotted away, Blue tried to get a feel for the ship, mind threaded deeply through the controls, trying to figure it all out. Through the ship’s systems she ranged, encountering barriers and firewalls, but she easily bypassed them. Some of them didn’t even notice her pass through, not recognizing her mind’s presence.  
She sped up, breaking formation with the rest of the ships. She wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to tell where things were around her…the ship was so huge, it seemed to lumber through space like a bear.  
 _Blue, you’re going the wrong way,_ ‘Ayanam told her.  
>em>Shit. Sorry. Mind if I borrow your piloting knowledge? I have no clue how to fly this.  
Knowledge acquired, she turned the ship around and flew by the Fearless Wander, protecting it with her own bulk as it broke from the fleet. The frigate’s three corvettes followed her, staying close.  
 _Two more ships are coming with us as well,_ he reported. _Please try to avoid crashing into anyone._  
Blue kept herself between the frigate and the Jiralhanae ships, but they were coming under very little fire. The ships themselves had fallen into internal chaos, distraught over Blue’s message. The Sangheili ships had backed away, giving them room to fight amongst themselves.  
BTS came back from the door. “They want to be let in. They say they’re surrendering.”  
Blue reached her mind out to the Jiralhanae behind the door. “They’re lying.” she raised her voice so those on the other side of the door could here. “I can read your minds! I see your lies as clear as day!”  
Angry pounding started on the other side of the door, the Jiralhanae demanding to be let in.  
“How many are there?” she asked BTS.  
“A lot,” he replied. “Over thirty, for sure, and more down the hallway. They’re coming to all the doors.”  
“Well, they’ll be out of time, soon,” Blue replied sadly. “Go reinforce that door they were pounding on before; we can’t lose pressure in here.”  
The Fearless Wander was leading them towards one of the Ark’s vast arms, covered in land and earth, shrouded by clouds.   
_How’d you find it?  
The Luminaries are almost impossible to read, with all these Forerunner artifacts around, but my Zealots managed to isolate the set of symbols corresponding to the Dreadnought. At least, we hope that is what we’ve done.  
Either way, I need to get to ground to find this thing. If it’s not where we think it is, I will scour this entire Installation until I find it._  
The countdown was about halfway done, and the Jiralhanae outside were still pounding. They were at all the doors.  
“I can drive them back again,” BTS offered, searching for more weapons amongst the bodies. “I don’t know if these doors are gonna make it.”  
“Do what you must,” Blue replied. “Just tell me if I need to unlock anything.”  
BTS reared up, hefting two more plasma rifles. “Mind opening the door I’m facing?”  
Blue complied, and the tiger open fired, once again ending with the overheating weapons being tossed through the door. Blue slammed it shut afterwards, and then shrieked as an unexpected burst of plasma splattered against her back.  
“Two of them got through!” BTS roared. On his hind feet, he was noticeably taller than the Jiralhanae, and boxed one to the ground, paws swinging.   
Blue turned, one hand up. The Jiralhanae charging at her was pushed back by some invisible force, thrown from the platform. Rem, down on the ground, shrieked and ran away from the fighting.  
BTS punched one of the attackers; a shockwave reverberated from his knuckles and caved the Jiralhanae’s chest in. The other one was still firing at Blue, who had ducked down to try and avoid getting shot while still piloting the ship via her mental control. It was proving quite difficult without a flight crew.  
 _Blue, you seem to be listing to port. Are you having trouble?  
Yes I’m having trouble! Jiralhanae are trying to break into the damn control room!_  
She righted the ship. “BTS! Take care of this bastard, for goodness sakes!”  
“I’m trying!” the tiger yelled back. “These guys are tough!” He grabbed another weapon from the floor and fired it at the last intruder.  
There was a loud clang of metal; one of the other doors buckled. Blue’s head whipped around.  
 _Damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit!_ Energy flew from her hand and crisscrossed the door, holding it together. BTS finally took down the last Jiralhanae and noticed the trouble.  
“Five minutes was too much!” he growled. “Just drain them now!”  
“Give me a thermal!” she replied. “If anyone is still making it for the brig, we can’t leave them to die.”  
“Yes we can!” he shot back. “They’re our enemies!”  
Blue snarled wordlessly, switching her own eye to snake-glass. Beyond the masses of color gathered outside the doors, she could see those still moving towards the brig, another bundle of color. There were a lot more making for the control room, with fresh weapons.  
“Stink them out again,” she ordered. “They can’t all have gotten masks.”  
“Fine, but you’re making a mistake,” BTS replied. Blue opened one of the doors and he threw another of the brown specks through. Blue sent a burst of air after it, keeping the smell out of their own room.  
Thermal showed many, but not all, of the enemies fleeing the smell. All around the ship, people were doubling over from the second round of the noxious chemical.  
“Minute left on countdown,” Blue said. “The doors will hold. They have to!”  
“Is this one Kig-Yar’s life really worth this much?” BTS growled. “You literally just met!”  
“I might as well make the effort!” Blue snarled in reply as Rem cowered fearfully. She lifted her voice. “Time runs short for those aboard; I urge you, make for the brig. It is your only chance. If these doors are breached, I will evacuate the ship.”  
That made the banging pause; they knew she could, if she had control of the ship. She could hear the enemies outside starting to argue over whether or not she was bluffing.  
“More of them are fleeing,” she said, relief washing over her. “They’re making for the brig...but they probably won’t get there in time.”  
“You made your promise,” BTS growled. “It’s their fault, not yours.”  
Blue raised her voice again. “Surrender unconditionally, disarm yourselves of all weapons, and I will let you into the safety of this room. You will not make the brig in time.”  
“You’re going to let them in?” BTS asked dubiously. “Really?”  
“Only the ones who I can tell won’t try to hurt us,” Blue replied, tapping her temple.  
“Let us in!” one of the doors yelled. “We surrender!”  
“Lies!” Blue replied. “Your minds read as easily a book!”  
Silence. Then: “Alright. We actually surrender.”  
She shook her head. “Still lying.”  
More silence. The countdown timer reached thirty seconds.  
Then: “Please let us in…”  
She inclined her head. “You have cleansed your minds of all treacherous thoughts. You will be allowed in now, but come quickly. Time is short.”  
She opened the door; the Jiralhanae rushed into the room, hands in the air. BTS snarled, pulling off their weapons and throwing them back out the door. Once the forty-odd Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar were through the door, it slammed back shut.  
“Sit, at the far wall,” Blue ordered. “Keep your hands where I can see them. A single treacherous thought and you will be executed.”  
BTS herded them to the wall. “Stay down, or feel my claws, shitheads.” one of the Jiralhanae snarled at him, making to rise at the insult.  
“Quiet!” Blue roared, head whipping around. “BTS, back off!” the tiger unhappily slunk away.  
She was trying to open the second, buckled door, but it appeared to be jammed. The pounding on the other side became more frantic.  
“It’s jammed!” she cried. “I’m sorry!” the counter reached zero. The people on the other side of the third door still wanted to kill them and had no interest in surrender. Unless Blue wanted to continue pouring energy into holding the door up, it would break. There were hundreds of people behind that door.  
“Lock the hallway doors!” someone on the other side of the buckled door yelled. “They’ll hold!”  
“Will do!” she replied, feeling around the form of the ship. She found the door that cut off the hallway leading to the control room door and shut it. She closed and locked the brig’s powerful shield doors. The exterior barriers were disabled, and the air rushed away from the ship. The angry noises on the other side of the aggressive door quickly turned to fear and terror, then silenced as the air ran away.   
Blue bowed her head and let the silence linger for a moment. “Does the hallway hold?” she called.  
“Good so far,” the door replied.  
“I can read your scheming minds,” Blue growled. “Quit it.” the door went guiltily silent.  
BTS was busy moving all the weapons on the floor to the other side of the room, where nobody could reach them. The group of Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar sitting on the floor looked way too much like a class of kindergarteners waiting for the teacher to read them a story. A class of angry, murderous kindergarteners.  
Blue looked over at them. “I’m sorry to make acquaintances like this. I will not ask for forgiveness from you. I just ask that you remain civil so more lives will not have to be lost.”  
“Why are we doing this,” BTS muttered quietly, kicking a plasma rifle across the floor.  
The hallways of the ship had gone dead. Blue reestablished the energy barriers and the atmosphere slowly began to return.  
One of the Kig-Yar noticed Rem standing and hissed angrily. Rem crouched unhappily, skittering away from the group.  
“Leave him alone,” Blue ordered. “He was here before any of you, and is only alive by my graces, as you are. Are any of the Kig-Yar here matriarchs, by any chance?”  
They didn’t reply; either they weren’t or didn’t want to tell.   
Blue scanned their minds. “Oh, so none of you are? But there is one who made it to the brig, it would seem. Well, she would be in charge of all of you now, I would think. I will have to make a friend of her.”  
The room stayed silent, and Blue piloted on, returning her concentrations to not crashing the ship.  
 _Visuals on the Dreadnought.  
Alert! This is the Silent Overwatch. We’ve been hit! Anti-aircraft, Mantis shot. We’re going down!  
Ships, out of range! _‘Ayanam ordered. Blue swerved away from her descent, sensing a powerful shot fly by, just barely missing her. There were Covenant on the ground around the Dreadnought, knowing she would be coming for them.  
“What’re we gonna do, doc?” BTS muttered. “We’ve got a ship full of prisoners and their friends on the ground, trying to kill us. Great. Just great!”  
“Hush,” Blue replied. “We’ll think of something.”  
 _Blue, can you use your ship as a shield to allow the rest of the fleet to close in?  
That’s negatory. I’m carrying over seven hundred Covenant prisoners.   
They are the enemy! What are their lives worth to you?  
They are worth just as much as any other. I will not compromise.  
Well, what would you suggest, then? Our ground forces are hundreds of kilometers away. We are on our own here._  
Blue growled under her breath, bowing her head. She looked up, eyes falling on the others gathered on the floor of the control room.  
“Who here believed me when I said Halo was a weapon? When the Oracle did?” she asked.  
Nobody answered, but they all looked at each other uneasily.  
Blue sighed, rolling her eyes. “I can read your minds, people. What are you more afraid of, the anger of your comrades or ultimate destruction at the hands of a superweapon?”  
One of the Jiralhanae looked up at her. “You were declared an ultimate enemy of the Covenant, heretic of the highest order. But the Oracle would have your words be true.”  
“What the Oracle knows, so does the Flood, and so do the humans,” Blue replied. “It is only you, you people who have been led blindly by corrupt leaders to believe that what brings death to all will give you power. What I know is that this is not the case.” She raised a hand. “Will you join me in the salvation of all our lives?”  
The Jiralhanae who’d spoke raised his hand. Slowly, others began to follow suite. Angry hisses and growls broke out within the group, people jostling each other. BTS snarled, threatening to pounce on those who were unruly.  
“Door, have you heard me?” Blue called.   
“Yes,” the door replied. “We want to help you.”  
“Once again, I can read your scheming minds,” Blue grumbled. “You guys just don’t learn, do you?” the door was guiltily silent, again.  
Blue turned back to the console, contacting ‘Ayanam. _I think I can whip up a few hundred troops from among the ship’s crew. They hate my guts but also believe that the Oracle was telling the truth, and would like to not die by giant superweapon explosion.  
That is ridiculous. They will betray us in an instant.  
I can read their minds. They won’t. I’ll need you to send Orbital Drop Pods to Silent Overwatch’s crash site. BTS is heading there to round up survivors. From there they’ll hit the turrets from another angle._  
She snapped her fingers at BTS. “We’re going to land out of range of those turrets. I want you to head to the Silent Overwatch’s crash site and recover any survivors. They’re going to need medical attention, which I know you can’t provide, so just do the best you can with whatever supplies they have.” _I’d love to come help, but I have a feeling we should keep the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili apart…_  
BTS nodded. “As you say. But I still think this is stupid.”  
She shook her head. “Maybe it is. But it’s what we’re doing.”  
~


	27. 1.26: Gratitude

1.26: Gratitude

Blue navigated the ship away from the Dreadnought’s landing site, staying far out of range of the turrets. ‘Ayanam helped guide her through the process, and they touched down with only a couple large bumps and worrying crashing noises.  
“Oh dear,” BTS muttered.  
Blue snapped her fingers and pointed away. “Get going.” The tiger nodded and sauntered to the buckled door. He opened his mouth; instead of a tongue, he had a manifold that usually acted as a flamethrower. Its shape morphed, and a cutting laser shot from it. He slowly cut through the jammed door until the metal slab was loose enough for him to grab it and break it free of the door. A few of the crew on the other side started, even firing shots at the tiger when he ran at them, but he jumped clear over their heads and moved on.  
Blue waved her hand; their weapons flew out of their grips.  
“Our time is short,” she said to them, taking their attention away from the mechanical tiger. “While our allies search for Truth, we must seek to take back what he stole from High Charity. The Dreadnought’s firepower will aid our search and defeat of him.” It was a bit of a stretch; she really wasn’t sure what the Dreadnought could do, or if it would help them defeat Truth at all, but the whole reason why these people were helping here was so they didn’t get killed by Halo.  
 _You’ve got enough vehicles in the bays to have a parade with,_ BTS informed her. _And you’ve also got a lot of ground to cover. I suggest you use them wisely._  
She dropped down from the command platform. “I’m only going to take people I trust, so I’m going to check each and every one of your minds. Those who don’t check out I will escort to the brig. So, I’ll ask everyone to move to this side of the room…”  
She checked them out one by one, those whose minds were currently clear of any intent of betraying her, or having lied about their intentions, were sent to one side of the room. The others, those who seemed keen on helping her, were put in the hallway. She sealed them in there, so they couldn’t access the control room and possibly hijack the ship.  
“Alrighty,” she turned back to the rest of the group, which was mostly Jiralhanae and about half of the original number. “To the brig with you all, unfortunately.”  
She’s been watching their minds; no less than eight Jiralhanae all moved for weapons on the ground. Eight bolts of energy through their skulls fixed that.  
Blue lowered her hand. “I don’t joke around. To the brig.”  
The ship had two brigs, so she thankfully didn’t have to deal with the rest of the prisoners, at least not yet. The group was itching to escape, but she’d closed all the doors to hallways they wouldn’t be going down, so there was nowhere for anyone to go.  
Once she closed and locked the group inside (they were minus three more Jiralhanae and one Kig-Yar due to rowdiness and attempts on her life), she made for the second brig. She wasn’t looking forwards to dealing with the crowd inside, but if she could get more manpower from them, it was worth the attempt.  
Everyone in the other brig still had all their weapons. She’d have to figure out some way to mass-disarm them all (telekinesis would work, maybe) and then get them to listen to her. If too many of the crew in the brig were belligerent, she’d just have to leave them all.  
She approached the heavy, locked door that led to the second brig. She put an ear to the door, hearing the muttering beyond. Telepathy and thermal imaging showed her that the brig was crowded to the brim, with almost no space. The Jiralhanae were all standing; there wasn’t enough room for them to sit down. The Kig-Yar had found creative perches around the edges of the room and cells, nervously holding weapons. She could detect the faint heat signatures of recently-dead bodies lying on the ground. Causes of death were unknown.  
She lifted a hand and knocked on the door. The room went deathly silent.  
“This is Blue,” she said. “I’m looking for anyone who wants to help me recover the Dreadnought so we can stop Truth from activating Halo and killing us all.”  
“Leave us be, heretic!” someone yelled from the other side. “We’d rather die than help you!”  
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I can tell a lot of you are having second thoughts. You heard the Oracle. All I want to do is help you.”  
The brig descended into angry growls, Jiralhanae demanding to know who the dissenters were. Blue sighed, shaking her head and putting her hand over her face.  
She could tell most of the Kig-Yar were nervously reconsidering their position, not as blinded by religious faith as the Jiralhanae were. And the matriarch was one of them.  
Blue reached her mind out. The matriarch wouldn’t be able to communicate back, but this situation didn’t have much of an alternative.  
 _Don’t be alarmed. This is Blue. I’m speaking in your head through telepathy._  
The matriarch jumped, looking around nervously before her eyes fixed on the door. She opened her mouth to reply and Blue hissed sharply, making her jump again.  
 _Don’t let them know I’m speaking to you! I need your help to get you guys out of there. Look down at your left palm if you’re willing to help._  
She watched the matriarch’s thermal signature; she dipped her head, turning one of her hands over. It was a yes.  
 _Ok. I need you to tell your brood to make their way to the door. Tell the Jiralhanae that I have a soft spot for your kind, and if you tell me to go away I will. I will open this door and you will have to run out, as fast as you can. I will lock it behind you, and put up shields to protect you from being fired upon while you escape. Scratch your head if you understand._  
The thermal image scratched its head. Blue nodded, backing away from the door.  
Inside, the matriarch hissed and clicked in her own language, which the Jiralhanae seemed to understand very little of. She looked to the individuals at the door.  
“The creature has a soft spot for us Kig-Yar,” she told them. “If we tell her to go away, she will.”  
The Jiralhanae snorted. “Really? How pathetic. Go ahead.”  
The matriarch hissed again, and the Kig-Yar made for the door hurriedly, bounding over and around the crowded Jiralhanae, who growled angrily at them.  
Once the Kig-Yar had gathered as close as they could, the matriarch angrily rapped on the door and yelled, “Go away, creature! We will never help you!”  
Blue, weaving her energies back into the system, pulled the door open. The Kig-Yar shrieked and fled, running through the exit with the astonished roars of the Jiralhanae chasing them. Blue thrust her hands out, an invisible force emanating from her. It swept over the heads of the Kig-Yar and hit the taller Jiralhanae, stunning them. They fell into each other, unable to organize in such a crowded state.  
Not all the Kig-Yar made it. Blue saw individuals grabbed, necks crushed or snapped, bodies stomped on and thrown against the walls. Those who’d ignored the matriarch for loyalty to the Jiralhanae were rewarded as well by sudden death.  
She slammed the door shut, stopping the incoming round of weapons fire. The Kig-Yar gathered nervously behind her, hissing angrily.  
“Thank you for your cooperation,” she said, exhaling. “Though that could’ve gone better.”  
“If there is a chance that the Prophets are making a big mistake, then it is worth the risk,” the matriarch replied. “They said that the Oracles do not lie. And, well, I like being alive.”  
“Me too,” Blue agreed, lowering her hands. “Come; we must be swift. We need to get the Dreadnought back, and fly to help stop this madness.”  
She led her ragtag band back up the halls, to where she had quarantined the rest of the loyal crew. Together, she’d amassed a band of about four hundred strong, vast majority Kig-Yar.  
She let those who didn’t have weapons back into the command center, to scrounge them from the ground. Rem hopped over to his dropped beam rifle, picking it up.  
Blue had been speaking with the matriarch, whose name was Zrist. It seemed to be that the young female was a daughter of the High Charity Brood Mother who had sided with Blue and was killed by the Jiralhanae; Zrist herself had been aboard the ship when she’d received the news, and wisely remained submissive to the Jiralhanae, who she would have no hope of defeating.  
“For the safety of my brood and myself, we had to continue our loyalty,” she said. “But with this chance, and the reveal of the truth, I am glad to have another choice.”  
“I am glad to have provided,” Blue replied. She lifted her voice. “Everyone, follow me. We must make for the Dreadnought, and take down those anti-air batteries.”  
They marched on the vehicle bays. When Blue had opened the exterior doors, some of the smaller vehicles had suffered damage from flying debris (a few had even detached from their restraints and were ejected into space), but the first bay they entered still contained four Phantoms and a whole bunch of Banshees.  
“Who knows how to fly these?” Blue asked. Only the Jiralhanae raised a hand, and not all of them.  
“We may be a bit cramped,” she acknowledged. “I can pilot one, and that gets us to…” she counted hands, “twelve ships? Yeah, we’re going to be a little cramped.”  
“We can fly the Banshees as well,” one of the Jiralhanae said. “It’ll make a little more room in the Phantoms.”  
Blue had to partition the group up, putting between thirty to forty Kig-Yar with each Phantom pilot and sending them to their ships. The remaining Jiralhanae either squeezed on Phantoms or took charge of Banshees. Extra Banshees were taken up by the ventral gravity lifts of the Phantoms, which buzzed around outside, waiting for everyone else.  
Blue dropped into the seat of her Phantom, running over her newly-acquired piloting knowledge from the minds of her fellow pilots. She could fly Aethon blindfolded; he was much bigger than the dropships, so at least it wouldn’t be like flying the massive battlecruiser.  
There was an intercom system running between the dropships and the cruiser; Blue wanted to patch into ‘Ayanam’s ships instead of the Jiralhanae fleet. She hacked away at the system, waiting until the other Phantoms had left before disengaging from the hangar and carefully flying out the door.  
The twelve Phantoms hovered above the cruiser, Banshees flocked around them like flies. The Dreadnought was visible on the horizon.  
Blue made her connection to her allies. “This is Blue. I’m in control of a Phantom along with eleven other friendly dropships. We have a fighting crew of around four hundred and are going to hit the Dreadnought’s anti-air defenses.”  
“This is Shipmaster ‘Ayanam. We are awaiting your advance. Proceed as necessary.”  
The connection crackled. “This is BTS. I found the Silent Overwatch. We’re about thirty miles from you, Blue, between you and the Dreadnought. Shipmaster ‘Verum is dead and we have very few survivors. They need immediate medical attention.”  
The draconic made a quick decision. “One of my allied ships went down near here, and the survivors are willing to help us, but they need swift medical attention,” Blue broadcasted BTS’s message to the other Phantoms. “I want to fly by the crash site and provide aid, but I will ask that you remain on the fringes and let me go in alone. The Sangheili will not be happy at your presence, and you not happy at theirs, most likely.”  
Those wounds were still raw, and would be for a long time. She could sense the storminess of the Jiralhanae’s minds, belittling the “pathetic” and “weak” Sangheili and huffing over having to help the “lesser” species. But they complied, the Kig-Yar eyeing the lone pilots with suspicion. The larger aliens were heavily outnumbered.  
Blue led the dropships onwards, making for the crash site. BTS acknowledged her approach, alerting his small crew.  
The Phantoms and Banshees halted at the edge of the site, hovering ominously in the distance like large hornets. Blue’s own ship landed, the draconic pilot exiting quickly with a single word to her all-Kig-Yar crew to remain and wait.  
She rushed to the makeshift infirmary that BTS had set up, essentially just patches of cleared ground upon which the injured were gathered. The healthy survivors and reinforcements hovered nearby, watching the Phantoms on the skyline angrily.  
“It’s bad,” BTS said, running up to her. “There were around two hundred survivors when I got here, and now we’re down to seventy-three, and fading fast.”  
“Let me concentrate,” Blue replied. Anger at the lack of medical technology on the behalf of the once-Covenant species rushed in her blood.  
She dropped to her knees next to the first few patients, Unggoy muttering in feverish semiconsciousness, sporting broken bones, puncture wounds, and lacerations. She let her energies flow, healing their life-threatening injuries. Out of the sake of time and her own power, she left non-mortal wounds alone.  
She shuffled amongst the injured, energy flowing from her. She tried her best to get to the worst-off before they finally slipped away.  
One Sangheili kept attempting to stand, insisting to his friends he was alright, even though one of his legs was completely shattered on the inside, and blood was leaking throughout his abdomen from internal injuries. Blue walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.  
“Have a seat, please,” she said politely. “Your injuries are complicated. You standing on one foot the whole time while I heal you will just make things worse.”  
“Nonsense! I am fully capable of battle,” he insisted. One of his friends, supporting him from the left, growled and shook his head angrily.  
“Sit down,” Blue repeated sternly, taking on a deadpan expression. “That’s an order.”  
The Sangheili unhappily obliged, and Blue knelt, resting a hand on his shoulder. She put her other hand on his shin, where the bone was shattered into multiple pieces.  
Energy moved through her, working to move all the bone shards back into place and knit them together, and to stop the internal bleeding. The Sangheili grunted, attempting to pull away from her at first, reacting to the strange and somewhat-painful feeling in his leg and chest. She growled in reply, holding on tighter.  
The internal injuries took almost seven minutes to fix, a time in which two more people slipped away. Blue was up and running as soon as she was done, not around to hear a thanks that was never given.  
She stood wearily, last patient seen to. BTS and a Sangheili Major, the highest-ranked survivor of the crash, walked up to her.  
“We are deeply thankful of your services to us, Ascendant Blue,” he said, inclining his head. “May you continue your journey unhindered, and we will join you soon once dropships arrive from above.”  
Blue nodded back, caught by a sudden feeling of warmth. Gratitude. “I will appreciate your swift reinforcement, once you are able. Let no anger run through your minds when you come to fight alongside my crew; a common threat has united us, one that must transcend past differences.”  
Despite her words, she still saw the rage in the eyes of the Sangheili, and she knew she could not temper it. The divide was too deep to heal this soon.  
“I’ll stay with them and lead them to you once the friendly dropships come pick us up,” BTS told her. The dropships were coming from quite a distance, out of the range of the Mantis turrets, but they would arrive soon.  
Blue ran back to her Phantom and rejoined the others in the sky; they turned and flew for the Dreadnought, leaving the crashed corvette behind.  
~


	28. 1.27: The Keyship and a Heart of Gold

1.27: The Keyship and a Heart of Gold

Kig-Yar manned the Phantom’s turrets, eyes ahead towards their enemies. As they approached, Blue identified a single Mantis turret and a few enemy Phantoms hovering about.  
“I want to try something,” she said to her own Phantoms. “Could I have one of you patch into those Phantoms around the gun?”  
“It can be done,” was the cautious reply. “What for?”  
She was forming an idea. “I’m going to tell them we’re coming from the space fleet, and that it’s been defeated. We’ve fled from the fighting as some of the only survivors, and Truth is asking for all forces to come to him immediately. If he doesn’t get reinforcements, he’s going to be captured. The UNSC is knocking on his door.” She shrugged. “We look like friendly Phantoms. Might as well try it.”  
“Alright.” The Jiralhanae switched off their network and to their foe’s.  
“Your Phantoms are from the ship captured by the creature,” the reply from the enemy Phantoms crackled over the comms. “State your business.”  
“We escaped the creature,” Blue replied. Her voice had entirely changed, imitating the Jiralhanae’s deeper growl.  
“You’re saying you escaped?” the voice was cautious.  
“Yes,” she repeated. “Just barely, as well. We have been defeated above, and Truth is requiring that all units come to reinforce him. The humans are threatening to break through his own defenses, and stop him from activating Halo.”  
“Come to ground, so we may search your ships,” the enemy Phantom ordered. “You could be hiding the creature onboard.”  
“Yes, sir,” Blue snapped back into her own ship, contacting her allies. “It didn’t work. Fire at will.”  
The twelve Phantoms open-fired at the other ships, splattering them with superheated plasma. The Banshees advanced, beating the Phantoms with their own armament and providing a distraction.  
Blue revved her ship and flew on, evading fire while the gunners on her turrets shot back with fire of their own. The Phantoms were surprisingly nimble, able to evade tricky shots when flown by someone skilled. She was getting a basic hang of the unique control console, dual joysticks that could be moved separately to allow the Phantom to pull sharp maneuvers. Under the hand of a skilled pilot, she guessed the dropships could really move. She, however, was doing just alright. Her ship wouldn’t last long.  
“We need feet on the ground!” she ordered. “Phantoms, get your people down safely. Banshees, provide us cover. Deployed troops will make for the Mantis at once.”  
She swerved; something nearby exploded. Her allied ships took turns going to ground, setting down their troops and extra Banshees before returning to the firefight.  
“I’m going down!” one of the pilots yelled. His Phantom, on fire, went spiraling towards the earth, thankfully empty of its passengers. The pilot, in his final rages, drove the falling ship right into a contingent of enemy Kig-Yar, sending them up in a bright explosion.  
“Ah - what?” disorder spread across the comms. One of her own Phantoms had taken the chance to turn against her crew, and one of her Banshees exploded into a fireball.  
Blue dropped her crew before hurriedly returning to the air, skin crawling at the betrayal, as expected as it should have been. An enemy Phantom went sailing by, crashing into the ground and exploding. The Banshees had gathered, chasing after groups of enemies on the ground. A pair of them looped off, dogfighting with the Phantom that had turncoated.  
The Jiralhanae on the ground were commanding the Kig-Yar, somewhat disorganized. They made for the Mantis, covered by the Phantoms. The remaining Banshees continued to harry the enemies on the ground.  
“We’re outnumbered on the ground!” one of the pilots reported. “Unless we can defeat these Phantoms, we’ll never be able to get our people through!”  
And it was becoming more and more difficult; it seemed that many of her allied pilots were having second thoughts about shooting down their kin, even though they had the aerial advantage. One had turned already, and she sensed others were considering it.  
“They will see you dead by the Rings for the sake of a blind religion!” Blue roared over the intercom, imitating the way the Jiralhanae spoke again. “See if they won’t!”  
She sensed one of the Phantoms broadcasting to the enemy ships; the pilot was pleading with the others to surrender.  
“Why should we?” was the reply. “You have become heretics, taken by the powers of the creature! You deserve nothing but death!”  
“The Oracle spoke!” her ally replied. “Halo is a lie, pack brothers. The Prophets are leading us to slaughter!”  
“See, you speak heresy!” the enemy pilot replied. “You disrupt the sanctity of the holy Rings!”  
“We aren’t lying; if the Oracle was here he’d tell you himself!”  
Blue contacted the pilot who was speaking with the other Phantoms, putting them in an uneasy cease-fire. “I’ll send you the footage of the Oracle speaking the truth, the footage that you saw. Send it to them,” she growled. Better the enemy thought she was one of their own.  
The files were passed around, and the Phantoms were silent on the other end of the intercom. Blue could tell they were arguing amongst themselves. Word of mouth could be ignored, but the words of an Oracle held more weight.  
Down on the ground, their Kig-Yar were taking advantage of the aerial cease-fire, advancing rapidly. They engaged another wave of enemy forces, forced to take cover against the heavier Jiralhanae weapons.  
“Call you troops off!” Blue ordered. “Only with the Dreadnought may Truth be stopped! The Sangheili offer much more merciful terms of surrender than what the Hierarch will give you.”  
“You have been corrupted! It is all lies!” one of the Phantoms began firing again, and they descended back into chaos. Blue cursed, diving through the air to make a low pass over the ground troops, trying to clear an advance for them. Her gunners fired away, following her lead.  
The smoking hull of a Banshee went flying by, crashing and exploding. Blue spun her ship around, plasma raining down on the enemies below. It was near-impossible to tell friend from foe in the air; all lines had been broken, and the identical ships flew around every which way. Plasma struck one of her gunners and sent the shrieking, charred Kig-Yar flying off his platform.  
“There are too many of them on the ground!” one of her co-pilots called over the intercom. “We’ll never get this turret down in time!”  
The intercom buzzed strangely, snapping with static. “Incoming - this is BTS. We’ve spotted your position. Back off and we’ll hit them from the air.”  
A flock of Phantoms were approaching with active camouflage on; Blue had to use thermal to spot them.   
“Reinforcements from Shipmaster ‘Ayanam have arrived,” she told the other Phantoms. “Move aside.”  
They obeyed, taking her words more seriously than the mysterious, static voice on the intercom. The ships began to separate, friend and foe becoming clear again. The cloaked Phantoms flew by, losing their invisibility once they began to attack the other ships, but the element of surprise still held strong. The enemy Phantoms scattered, and Blue’s ships gathered to do another sweep over the ground, clearing the path to the Mantis.  
“Aaaaaah!” one of her Phantoms exploded in mid-air; it had been shot down by one of the green-colored Sangheili Phantoms. She swore; maybe they still couldn’t tell friend from foe, or that had been intentional.  
“Back off!” she roared, patching into the Sangheili Phantoms. “These ships are with me!”  
Kig-Yar snipers had cleared the platform around the Mantis, and their comrades gathered beneath it, shooting up into its exhaust vents. After a few moments, the turret suffered an internal explosion and went offline.  
“Spread out! Clear the area so we may board the Dreadnought,” Blue ordered. Amongst the green Phantoms she spotted BTS’s dark, feline figure.  
She connected her intercom back to the Fearless Wander. “We’ve disabled the Mantis. Requesting support to clear up the rest of the ground forces and get our Dreadnought back.”  
Her Kig-Yar were retreating now, numbers severely dwindled. The snipers, Banshees, and Phantoms provided cover as they ran back into the trees.  
“Move them out,” Blue ordered. The Phantoms backed off to go pick up the troops.  
There were only two other enemy Phantoms in the air, and they were descending to the ground, apparently surrendering.  
 _What’s going on, BTS?  
One of your snipers killed the Brute Chieftain that was in charge of this activity. The Majors tried to keep control, but it seems that some of them weren’t very interested in fighting either. What’d you tell them?  
I told them the truth.  
Hah. Suckers. The truth hurts, doesn’t it?_  
Blue landed her Phantom, which was smoking quite badly; she was surprised it had stayed in one piece. Her remaining gunners, nervous at the smoke, quickly exited.  
She walked out after them, blinking in the light. The other Phantoms had gone back up and were hovering; only five of them were carrying troops now, instead of twelve. The Banshees had suffered losses of similar proportion.  
She spread her wings, jumping into the air to get a better look at her surroundings. The Sangheili had sent to them five loaded Phantoms plus BTS, ready to act. They were currently rounding up the defeated foes (or rather, shooting every single fleeing figure they saw and just barely not shooting the surrendering ones). The two enemy Phantoms that had gone to ground had been empty of passengers, but had full crews, unlike Blue’s own Phantoms that just had a pilot. This group of eight captured Jiralhanae was under very heavy and angry guard; Blue quickly winged over before anything bad happened.  
“I’d like to speak with them a moment,” she said politely, though her eyes warned that refusal would be deadly. The angry circle of Sangheili unhappily backed off.  
Blue lifted her head. “Are you here to save yourselves, or save us all?” she asked.  
“Please spare us, creature,” one of the Jiralhanae, a younger one, pleaded. “We did not know! We were blinded by the Hierarch’s sugared words.”  
Blue tilted her head. “You believe the Oracle, then?”  
They nodded. She carefully looked through their minds; they were telling the truth, though some grudgingly. As with her own ragtag crew, only some had believed outright when they had been told; others needed their friends to convince them before they’d also come to believe the truth.  
“I will take any help I can get,” she said, which made some of the gathered Sangheili growl angrily. The plates on the back of her neck stood up aggressively, and she bared her teeth, swinging her head around. “Silence! This matter is beyond race, beyond species. We either all live, or all die. There is no room for antagonism in this moment.”  
She turned back to the Jiralhanae. “BTS will escort you to my Phantoms. You will guard the this site until Shipmaster ‘Ayanam arrives.”  
“Follow me,” BTS flew overhead, speaking cheerfully. “This way…”  
“To the Dreadnought,” Blue sharply ordered the Sangheili in the other direction. They’d have to figure out some way to get the thing off the ground and flying. If Truth could fly it, then so could they.  
Nobody within her telepathic radius knew exactly how to fly it, that was for sure. The contingent Truth had set up to guard the ship hadn’t travelled here on it.  
Damn smart move…  
They were dwarfed by the massive shadow of the keyship; from her judgements, it was over seven miles between each of the three outriggers it sat on. The Sangheili were scouting for a way in both on foot and in the Phantoms.  
Blue flew up, heading towards the center of the ship. As she went, she became aware of some incoming communication, and then Cortana started talking in her head.  
“Hello? Blue? Are you there?”  
“I can hear you, Cortana. What is it?”  
“Truth’s fleet has been defeated. The initial chaos you caused was dispersed relatively quickly, and they still put up a good fight, despite being so outnumbered. Probably because the Elites wanted to personally hunt down and destroy every, single enemy ship that didn’t surrender…which was near to all of them.”  
“Predictable. Where are you now?”  
“We’re moving through a building - the Cartographer’s on the other side. Truth’s set down quite a ferocious defensive force to try and stop us - !” she was cut off by a burst of static.  
“Cortana!” Blue yelled shooting mental energy down the pathway to reestablish it. It had been an instinctive maneuver - the connection hadn’t been disrupted, Cortana had disconnected from the path suddenly.  
The AI was back in the next moment. “Sorry - we got jumped by a surprise Scarab. Hopefully we’ll get through this in one piece - and try not get stepped on!” Blue could tell she yelled that last part at the Chief as well.  
“We’ll be over to help as soon as possible,” Blue promised. She was getting flagged by her troops; they’d found a way into the Dreadnought. “I’ll check back soon, I promise.”  
She dove, flying down to one of the massive legs. There was a door near the bottom, the only one unlocked.  
BTS came flying back, setting down on the ground next to them. “Here to hack what’s necessary, all in good time. Hey, you found a door! Good job!”  
“Since the Covenant reverse-engineered so much of their technology from Forerunner examples, hopefully getting this thing to fly will be somewhat instinctive,” Blue said. “Anyways, in we go.”  
They entered the massive ship, and proceeded to spread cautiously through the hallways, scanning for more enemies. Both Blue and BTS’s scans came up clean; the ship was empty.  
“Spread out, find the control room,” Blue ordered. “This ship is massive, so I expect this to take some time.”  
Outside, the gleaming hull of the Fearless Wander appeared over the horizon, followed by her two remaining corvettes and two escort ships. They halted near the Dreadnought.  
Blue sensed the incoming intercom message. “This is Shipmaster ‘Ayanam. We have arrived at your location. Requesting status report.”  
“We have boarded the Dreadnought,” Blue replied. “We’re currently looking for the control room or something of similar use. The Covenant forces here have been routed; we’ve taken in a few of them. Those Phantoms you see are carrying Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae turncoats that I have personally cleared as no longer loyal to Truth.”  
“Jiralhanae!” ‘Ayanam sounded astounded. “You persuaded them to work with you?”  
“A few,” Blue admitted. “Once I showed them the footage of the Oracle, they became unsure. A few of them have come to see the truth.”  
“Astounding,” ‘Ayanam said, true to his emotions. “What else of your situation?”  
“The survivors of the Silent Overwatch are with us as well, and their reinforcements. More would’ve survived, but your medical readiness leaves much to be desired.” Blue couldn’t help but criticize them, on just that point. “At some point someone should go recover that battlecruiser I hijacked. It’s still in working condition, and the brigs are full of Jiralhanae prisoners. I don’t want to leave them around for too long.”  
“It will be taken care of,” ‘Ayanam promised, but Blue could tell taken care of probably only meant the ship. She ground her teeth angrily; there was still only so much influence she had over her allies, and in the face of their serial killers, she couldn’t exactly expect them to be merciful. As much as she wished she could make them see mercy, their blindness could not be cured overnight. It would take years before they could let it go.  
 _If at all._  
It would be miraculous if she managed to keep the handful of Jiralhanae piloting the Phantoms alive; friendly fire was an easy thing to cover up in the heat of battle, and none of the Sangheili would care. The Jiralhanae knew it as well.  
 _If only I had Aethon...a safe space, my own place, to put these people. Oh, why must it work this way?_  
She had to go on, either way. So, she ranged across the ship as the others did, head inclined. Outside, the Jiralhanae-piloted Phantoms were called to land, and they refused, sensing the trap. Guns and the green Phantoms rose threateningly. ‘Ayanam, aboard his ship, ordered weapons to be ready to fire at will.  
Blue heard the shots go out. She tried, but she couldn’t ignore it; just knowing what was happening created a pain in her heart. She had promised to protect them, and they were angry and afraid. All of them.  
Her head whipped up, eyes glowing, and an awful rumble filled her chest. Breaking from her search party, she sprinted back through the ship. Her hands hit the ground and she was running on all fours, moving at a speed unheard of for any other living creature, BTS following in her wake.  
~


	29. 1.28: The Golden Heart's Plea

1.28: The Golden Heart’s Plea

Blue burst to the outside, wings snapping open. The Phantoms were in chaos, under attack from the ground and the sky. Only six remained now, and as she watched one was blasted to smithereens by one of the corvettes.  
Her roar cut through the air like thunder, except beyond even that, resonating through the ships above. People on the ground cried and fell, clutching their ears.  
She roared again, and the attacking Phantoms fled like scared dogs. Her eyes were burning with some feverish fire, so bright they shone like miniature stars.  
‘Ayanam, nor the shipmasters on the two escort ships, had lifted a finger to try and stop the madness. Their ships hadn’t participated, out of political blind-eyeing, but she wasn’t tricked.  
“Hold your fire!” she roared. “You waste your time, your resources, risk lives for pointless vengeance! Do you want death, or do you want salvation?”  
She flew to her Phantoms, hovering protectively in front of them. With one hand, she signaled them to land, and they obliged.  
The ships were silent. ‘Ayanam was silent.  
“Unload,” she ordered the Phantoms. “All Kig-Yar should go join with the rest of the ground forces under Sangheili command. The Jiralhanae will come with me.” she lifted her head. “They will be my personal escort.” Seeing that she literally couldn’t let them out of her sight for even ten minutes before someone tried to kill them, she had to assign them directly to her.  
The Kig-Yar hurriedly unloaded; Blue saw Zrist among them, sharp voice keeping order. The Sangheili had no problem with their kind, and she knew it.  
That left her with eleven, only eleven, Jiralhanae. They regarded the hovering ships with anger, nervously clutching weapons.  
“You shall not act against them,” Blue growled. “If you do, I will not stop them from slaughtering you all.”  
“They’re going to anyways,” one muttered darkly.  
“Why do you put in all this effort to protect us?” another asked angrily. “Would it not be easier to let us range free, and die with little harm done?”  
“You do not see the world as I, an Ascendant, do,” she replied. “Every life, to me, is worth saving.”  
“We have risked our lives, turned against our own kind, and denounced our sacred religion because of your actions,” the Jiralhanae continued, angry and bitter. “Because the Prophets themselves have said that the Oracles do not lie. I guess you are just returning the favor, in the way of effort given.”  
That logic, however basic, would satisfy her. As long as those who followed her were confident in their reasons of loyalty, she was comfortable.  
“I will try my best to bring you to the Oracle so you may talk to him, personally,” she promised. “I would like to make it as clear as possible for you what the real truth is.”  
She felt a pang of her own guilt and pushed it away.  
She turned her head back to the ships in the sky. “Send a crew to retrieve the battlecruiser, but do not for a moment think that you may take the ship and do with it what you wish. I was the one who captured it, and therefore I have control of its fate. I will have that ship brought here under a temporary master until I am free to consider its permanent situation. Those brigs will remain locked. Do you understand?”  
She received silence at first. Then, ‘Ayanam replied, grudgingly, “Yes, Ascendant.”  
She nodded her head sharply. “Good. You have done enough damage here. Don’t let it continue.”  
Her insides boiled, but she knew she couldn’t exact some sort of punishment for the shipmasters’ actions. They were blinded by vengeance and generations of conflict. They weren’t raised to view each other as equals. They were, from their very beginnings, taught to defeat, or be defeated. Kill, or be killed. They saw nothing wrong with it. If she truly believed her morals were better, she could only hope to teach them a different way of life.  
The Jiralhanae were angered by the wanton loss of life; Blue had done so much to save them, while those around them sought to undo it. And they didn’t understand, even with all her words. They couldn’t understand how she felt. How her heart hurt.  
 _I’m not even sure I understand it._  
“I know nothing will repay the loss of your pack brothers,” she said in undertone to the Jiralhanae. “I will not ask you to befriend your enemy. I will only ask you to assist me in securing the fate of this galaxy, and then I will let you go, once we are back in safe space. From there, you may do as you wish, as long as you leave us well enough alone. Is that a deal?”  
The Jiralhanae looked amongst each other, but seemed satisfied. “Deal.”  
“I will not ask your names, if you do not want to give them,” she continued. “If we are to meet again, years from now, as enemies, it will make the memories less bitter.”  
The search throughout the Dreadnought ranged on; one of the escort ships left to go retrieve Blue’s downed battlecruiser. The Fearless Wander hovered overhead, communicating with the Sangheili inside the Forerunner keyship, helping them search. Soon, the command center of the ship was located, and they began to work on how to fly it.  
Blue remained outside with her escort, not wanting to bring them into the close quarters of the keyship. The Phantoms had been confiscated by Sangheili, except one. It would be theirs.  
BTS was inside the Dreadnought, his mind tangled in the systems, helping to figure them out. Without Aethon’s superior deciphering skills, they couldn’t progress as fast as Blue wished they could. The tiger and the coreship together were an unstoppable team, but apart they had weaknesses.  
 _Ya’know, if you were in here, it’d help us a lot.  
You’ll still get it done. I have to babysit everyone out here instead of actually being useful.  
Just bring them inside!  
Close quarters...it’s a no.  
Hmph. I guess I understand._  
She crossed her arms, face stormy. The area around them had all but cleared up, personnel and vehicles moving to assist with the retrieval of the Dreadnought, or returning to the ships in the sky above.  
Communications were incoming; it was Cortana.  
“Truth’s holed up behind an energy barrier. We know where he is, at least, but we can’t get there easily. Can you help?”  
“The Dreadnought isn’t up and running yet,” Blue replied. “I’m nervous to leave at the moment. We have Jiralhanae prisoners, and they’ll go from prisoners to dead as soon as I turn my back. So...if you want me to come, I’m not going to be alone. I don’t know how comfortable your people will be with having to work with their enemies. I know the people here certainly aren’t.”  
“Well...it’s not exactly urgent at this point. Truth needs a human to activate the array, and he hasn’t got any, so he’s stuck. We just need to deactivate the shield generators in three towers and we’re in.”  
“Only a human can activate the array?” Blue questioned. “Where’d you find that out?”  
“Guilty Spark. He told us after he figured out we were slightly panicked for time. The Prophet is already inside the Citadel, from which he can activate the array. But, apparently only a ‘Reclaimer’ can activate the array, which the Covenant are not.”  
“That seems like a strange mechanism,” Blue mused. “What happens if the Flood kills all of humanity? The greatest threat against them becomes neutralized.”  
“Well, if you can find a Forerunner, feel free to ask them.”  
“Hah. Maybe I will.”  
BTS started prodding in her mind, so she politely ended her conversation with Cortana. _What is it now?  
We think we know how to fly this thing. But it’s engaged with some lower system that we’re not sure how to detach it from. I thought about just trying to fly away...but that could break things. This is going to take a while.  
Send people belowground to try and reach whatever the ship is connected to. We may be able to disengage it from the console, or we may have to override whatever’s holding it.  
I can hack into the lower systems, see what they lead to. Getting through Forerunner firewalls is the hardest thing I’ve ever encountered in computing, though. There are parts of the ship I still don’t have access to.  
Just do your best. We apparently have time. Truth needs a human to activate the array; he can’t do it himself. And he doesn’t have any humans lying around._  
The eleven Jiralhanae had sat patiently and nervously through her seemingly one-sided conversation with Cortana, and long periods of silence talking to BTS. She became aware they were talking behind her, in an unknown language. She reached into their minds, and identified it as the language of their species, quickly intaking and storing the information.  
“The Oracle said only a human could activate the array,” she rumbled in the very animalistic tongue. “He refers to them as Reclaimers, and only Reclaimers can activate the array.”  
The Jiralhanae collectively jumped, staring at her as she spoke their language. “Reclaimer?”  
She shrugged. “I’m not sure what it means. Must be some relation between humans and Forerunners. Either way, it keeps us alive, so I’m okay with it.”  
“The humans are not the Reclaimers!” the Jiralhanae exclaimed. “The Covenant was meant to inherit control of this galaxy!”  
Blue narrowed her eyes. “Did the Prophets tell you that?”  
The Jiralhanae all looked at each other. “Well...yes. It was the center of our religion!”  
Blue covered one of her eyes with her hand. “Yeah…that would make sense. Only a human could activate the array, because only humans are the chosen of the Forerunners. They trusted them with the power of their technology.”  
“Then the Prophets have always lied!” one of the Jiralhanae snarled. “From the very beginning, they could not activate the sacred Rings! They have all lied!” He drew his lips back over his teeth, fists clenched in anger. The other Jiralhanae growled angrily, gripping weapons.  
“We have been lied to our whole lives!” he continued to snarl, eyes red-tinged. “Then...what does it all mean?”  
“It means we must come to harmony with this world, now that it is so different,” Blue replied. “We shall speak to the Oracle, and he will explain. If this is true, then your entire past has been spent in dishonor of the very people you worshipped.”  
The Jiralhanae let out a wordless howl, throwing his head back. He crouched, hands hitting the ground, weapon then coming up, then dropping because he had no enemy to fire upon. He stared blankly at the ground, breath coming in frenzied huffs. His head slowly turned, and his gaze fell upon the source of his anger and distress.  
With a howl, he charged at Blue, in a berserk rage. She leapt into the air, wings spreading. She flew above his grasp; he jumped, impossibly high, and grabbed her feet. She howled, sending an electric shock down her legs. He yelped and let go, falling heavily to the ground. The other Jiralhanae had backed away, weapons up. The Sangheili up by the Dreadnought had noticed the situation, and before Blue could do anything else, a beam rifle shot went through the Jiralhanae’s chest. He howled, charging at the too-far Kig-Yar who’d shot him, and another bolt went through his head, ending his life.  
Blue dropped, folding her wings. In his berserk rage, the Jiralhanae couldn’t be reasoned with. She bowed her head, kneeling down next to the body. “I am sorry for all the lies you have suffered. I can only hope that my vigilance and dedication will, over time, heal these wounds,” she said to the survivors. “I want to make things better. For all of you. My work will not be done for a long time.”  
“The Prophet’s blood on my hands will be a start,” one of the Jiralhanae growled.  
“I will tear his head right off his scrawny neck!” another declared.  
“The Oracle will answer all my questions,” a third brooded. “I will know the extent of the lies we have been told, so I may repay the cursed worms for every, single one!”  
Blue could recognize the irreversible and all-consuming hate the San’Shyuum were fast becoming the owners of. If this small group of Jiralhanae returned to their packs with the word, chaos would ensue. The San’Shyuum would stand no chance, even as innocent as many of them were.  
 _What am I to do?_  
There was no time for deliberation. Cortana was seeking to contact her again.  
“We’ve got a problem. The third tower never got taken down. We’re working on that right now, but we think Truth captured the people there. He’ll force them to activate the array. Can you help us?”  
“How certain are you that Truth captured someone?” Blue asked, feeling her stomach drop a bit.  
“Very certain. Very, very certain. Nobody else is close enough to stop them.”  
Blue cursed, shaking her head. “I can make it there. Send me the coordinates of the Citadel.”  
She turned to the Jiralhanae. “Get on the Phantom.”  
 _BTS!  
Yeah?  
We need to go. Now. Truth captured one of the humans and is going to force them to activate Halo. We’ll only make it there on time if we make a hyperspace jump. Nobody else is close enough to stop him.  
Shit! On my way outside.  
I’m bringing the Jiralhanae with me. You’ll have to push the Phantom into hyperspace.  
That ship surely won’t be up to the strain. And you know it exceeds my carry limit.  
We’ll do this together. I’ll shield the ship and stabilize the interior. You push._  
She entered the Phantom, the Jiralhanae already seated inside. She directed them away from the turrets, to the interior.  
“We won’t need those,” she said. “At least not right now.” She sat down at the controls.  
“Where’re we going?” one of her passengers asked.  
“To the Citadel, to stop Truth,” she replied. “We’re the only ones who can get there in time.”  
“Well that doesn’t make any sense,” the Jiralhanae responded. “We’re eons away from there!”  
“Let me introduce you to my dear friend hyperspace,” she replied grimly, Phantom lifting off the ground. She contacted ‘Ayanam so he knew where she was going.  
 _Your plan sounds frightfully insane, but if it is indeed true that Truth has captured a human, then you are our last hope. Go with fury._  
Blue flew the Phantom away from the site. BTS streaked up behind them, patching into the intercom.  
“BTS here...so what the hell is the plan?”  
“I’m going to get this thing up to full speed, and then I need you to get on its ass and push us into hyperspace,” Blue replied. “I’m sealing the interior.”  
She let her energy surround the ship, encapsulating the interior and cutting them off from the outside. She spread an inertial stasis field around her Jiralhanae passengers, so they wouldn’t get killed by the rapid acceleration.  
The Phantom got up to speed very quickly; the ship shuddered when BTS impacted it, planting his front paws and chest against the rear of the hull.  
“Ready to push,” the tiger grunted, engines becoming louder.  
“Things may look a little weird, but it’ll only be momentary,” she told her confused and slightly-panicked passengers. “Count us in, BTS.”  
They were flying faster than the Phantom could, BTS adding the thrust of his own engines to theirs. She could hear the sound of his turbojets screaming; the sound changed as his engine shifted stages to push them faster and faster.  
“Jumping in three…” he started the countdown.  
“Two…” Blue heard the sound of his hyperspace drive revving up.  
“One…” she gripped the controls of the Phantom tightly.  
“Zero!” the space around them warped, bending away towards the horizon, and snapped back, the ship appearing above the Citadel. Hundreds of miles away, a thirty-foot streak of radioactive plasma burned in the sky from where BTS’s hyperspace drive had fried the air behind him.  
Blue regained control of her ship, the Jiralhanae sitting in stunned silence, the event having happened too quickly for any of them to react.  
“I broke something!” BTS yelled over the intercom. “My hyperdrive has shut down. The weight was too much.” She could tell he was putting most of his weight on the Phantom, engines slowing down, his anti-grav drive the only thing keeping him from tumbling off the aft of the ship.  
“Stay up!” Blue ordered. “We still need you.”   
“Anti-air batteries!” the tiger yelped, cutting her off. “Scarabs! Look out!”  
~


	30. 1.29: Justice

1.29: Justice

Blue could see the batteries and Scarabs, but they weren’t firing on her. They thought she was friendly, for the moment.  
“They can’t get the ships down here!” The barrier around the Citadel was still up; they’d hyperjumped right through it. That was lucky, on their part; if they had emerged from hyperspace in the middle of the barrier, it would have sheared the Phantom in half like a knife.  
She reached out to Cortana. “We’re here. What’s your situation?”  
“Truth focused practically all his defenses on this third tower, rather than spread them over all three,” the AI replied. “He captured Johnson and his team and brought them to the Citadel. We’re bogged down in the third tower because of all the damn Brutes he put here!”  
Blue spotted the wide, round window letting light into the control center of the Citadel. Truth was standing in front of the command console, surrounded by Jiralhanae. Her sharp eyes spotted one of them holding someone; it had to be Johnson, who Cortana had mentioned.  
“They’ve got Johnson in the Citadel,” she told Cortana. “I’m going in to stop them. Wish us luck.”  
She flashed a look over her shoulder, at her ten passengers. “Get on the turrets. Weapons up, team. We’re going to punch through and take them down.”  
She gunned the Phantom and flew right at the window, cannons roaring.  
BTS zoomed ahead of them, shattering the window with his impact. He went right for the Jiralhanae holding Sergeant Johnson, energy bolts from his turret pelting the larger creature.   
“Hey, don’t shoot at me!” Johnson barked, trying to duck.  
“Oh, sorry!” BTS yelled. He veered away, shutting his guns off.  
The Phantom crashed through the remnants of the window, emerging into an interior space that was large enough for Blue to maneuver, if she could keep the ship up. She slammed back on the engines, trying to keep the ship from going too far forwards and overshooting their target.  
The Jiralhanae on the turrets kept firing, but the one on the left bay door faltered when he caught his own kin in the crosshairs. He cried out, return fire pelting him in his moment of hesitation, and fell from the Phantom.  
“What is this heresy?!” she could hear Truth yelling from below, seeing his own people firing at each other. Blue attempted to yank the Phantom around for a better shot at the console.  
There were perhaps no more than ten enemy Jiralhanae in the room, plus the Chieftain that had been holding Sergeant Johnson. The human had been dropped and crawled some distance from the fight; BTS was standing between him and the Jiralhanae, holding them off with shields and return-fire.  
“Fire back!” Blue roared. The people on the ground had little in the way of anti-air defenses, but her own novice skill and lack of good flying room was making maneuvering difficult. Thank goodness the Phantom could hover.  
“It is the creature! She has taken control of their minds! Kill them! Kill them all!”  
Hovering made it easier to fire on the people below, but it also made the ship more vulnerable to attack.  
There was a loud thunk, and the Jiralhanae in the Phantom cried out. Blue whipped around just in time to see what looked like a baseball bat with spikes stick to the frame around the open bay door and explode, shooting out superheated flak in all directions.  
Energy flew from her hands as soon as she saw the object, knowing it must be an explosive device of some sort. It formed a curving shield, getting through half of the Phantom’s interior space before the device exploded. The Jiralhanae on the door turret was shredded to pieces; shrapnel bounced around and hit the one on the opposing door turret as well. He cried out, grievously wounded. Two other Jiralhanae had been outside the shield as well; they were dead on impact, lacerated right through by the superheated flak.  
Alarms were going off; the explosion had damaged some of the internals of the Phantom.  
“Get out!” Blue yelled, yanking the Phantom around. The injured Jiralhanae on the door turret was shot from below and fell off, limp.  
She flew over to BTS and Johnson, Phantom listing dangerously. The remaining five Jiralhanae jumped out of the ship and sheltered behind BTS’s shield. Blue heard Johnson swear mightily, but the Jiralhanae ignored him, firing at the others in the room.  
Blue swung the falling ship around, aiming the nose at Truth. “Eat SHIT!” Hopefully, she had yelled loud enough for him to hear.  
The Phantom crashed into the ground, exploding. It fell short of its intended target, going up in a burst of blue-purple flame. Blue was thrown through the front of the ship, ripping right through the bow. She tumbled roughly ten feet from the site before hitting the ground like a rock, pain crossing her chest and making her gasp loudly. Her head was spinning, vision not quite working. Her shields were down.  
“On your feet!” BTS was yelling out loud, probably at her. The contingent had moved, taking shelter behind actual structures instead of the tiger’s energy shield, which had been testing his strength.  
Something whizzed over her head, bringing searing heat with it. She had recollections of a superheated blade driving through her chest and her vision snapped to clear; she flipped onto all fours and raced for cover, running low to the ground. The next few shots went over her head, wielder of the Spiker having expected her to stand up.  
She joined up with BTS and the others. “I’m good, I’m good. Sorry about that.” The very faint blue glow reappeared around her body as her shields recharged.  
“I applaud you trying to hit Truth with a Phantom,” BTS commended. “Vehicular manslaughter! A girl after my own heart!”  
Blue glared at him. “Shut up. It was a stupid idea. I could’ve died.” she grumbled a bit self-consciously.  
BTS waved a dismissive paw. “Pfffft. A tiny explosion like that? You dropped an entire UNSC frigate on yourself and survived. Don’t bullshit me.”  
Johnson looked confused. “An entire UNSC frigate...when did that happen?”  
“High Charity,” Blue replied. “And it wasn’t an entire frigate, just a piece of it. You can ask more questions later. We’re not safe until Truth is dead.”  
“Indeed,” one of the Jiralhanae growled, hefting his weapon. “I will force that worm to tell us the extent of his lies!”  
“It’ll be easier to just talk to the Oracle,” BTS grumbled, rolling his eyes. “But I can’t exactly argue with that logic either.”  
Blue reached down her connection to Cortana. “You guys nearby?”  
“We’re almost there. What’s going on?”  
“We’ve rescued Johnson,” Blue told her, “but Truth is still alive, along with seven Jiralhanae, it looks like. We’re evenly matched.”  
“Hey!” Johnson protested. “Don’t forgot about me, sister!”  
Blue gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve suffered multiple rib fractures and lacerations. You’re in no shape to take on a full-grown Brute. And I am,” she shook her head a little, blinking, “unfortunately a bit low on energy to be healing anything but the most critical of injuries right now.”  
“We’re about to reach your position,” Cortana replied. “We’ll come at them from behind, and finish this.”  
“Give us the signal, and we’ll engage,” Blue promised. “Just don’t shoot my Jiralhanae.” She signaled her cohort of Jiralhanae to get into position. They edged forwards, lifting weapons.  
“Counting in,” Cortana said. “Three...two...one...go!”  
Blue swept her hand down and leapt forwards. She exited cover, protected by the barrage of fire coming from the Jiralhanae behind her. BTS kept pace, turret on his back glowing with power.  
Light flashed in the corner of her eye; a bridge had been activated at the back of the room, and two figures were running across it. One of the enemy Jiralhanae went down, shot in the back.  
Truth was shrieking curses, hiding behind the command console. The remaining Jiralhanae had fallen back to him, surrounding him protectively.  
“Do not listen to him!” one of Blue’s own Jiralhanae called. “He has lied to all of us!”  
“Your minds have been taken by the creature!” the enemy Jiralhanae replied. “You must be cleansed!”  
Blue had reached her target; a red-bodied plasma rifle sitting on the ground next to its owner’s corpse. She hefted it and swung around, aiming at the Jiralhanae around Truth. The enemy party was moving position, towards the opposing side of the room, where there was more cover. And…  
“Truth’s gravity throne is over there!” Cortana yelled. “If he gets to it, he could get away. You’ve created a nice opening through that window by flying a Phantom through it.”  
“Stop them!” Blue roared, and opened fire.   
The shields around the Jiralhanae lit up, and one of them fell, overcome. The rest broke into a run, one picking up the much-slower Truth and carrying him along. Blue charged, moving much faster than they could.  
She heard the sound of a weapon charging up and threw herself to the ground just in time to avoid the shot from the assault cannon on Truth’s gravity throne. It soared over her head and struck the ground, leaving a black scorch.  
“Your sacrifices will not be forgotten!” she could hear Truth yelling to the Jiralhanae he was leaving behind. His words were empty; he only cared about saving his own skin.  
“The energy shields around the throne are almost impenetrable!” she could also hear the Arbiter’s voice. “Mount his throne and knock him from it!”  
Truth was making for the open window now, floating about fifteen feet above the ground; Blue could sense some sort of device building energy around him as well. She gathered her legs to leap, wings lifting.  
A snarl cut through the air, and BTS’s black form soared across her vision. He crashed into the throne, paws wrapping around the back of it. Blue heard his engines reverse, and he pulled the throne to the ground, overcoming its antigravity forces with his own weight and thrust.  
The black tiger was straining, fighting an incredible force. He roared, jaws clamping around the back of the throne, between his paws. He wrenched his body around, flipping the chair upside-down and slamming it into the ground. Truth was flung from his seat, landing with a yelp nearby. His throne made a loud clang when it hit the ground, energy shields sparking. BTS grabbed one of the arms of the throne and ripped it from the chair, rendering it useless without its controls. He shoved it aside, dropping the arm at his feet.  
Blue dropped her plasma rifle. Truth was still cowering on the floor, and the rest of his Jiralhanae were dead.  
Her Jiralhanae, now only four, plus Johnson, were edging towards Truth, weapons up. The Arbiter and the Chief were coming at them from the side. Blue walked over to BTS, and together they all formed a rough circle around the downed Prophet.  
“Heresy!” he coughed, glaring at the Jiralhanae. “Traitors! You will burn for what you have done!”  
“Tell us the truth of your lies, foul worm,” one growled, kneeling down and reaching for the Prophet. Blue growled at him, making him stop.  
“The Oracle will tell you,” she said. “Do not waste your time on him.” She looked over at the Chief. “I trust Spark stayed with you?”  
He nodded. “He avoided the fighting, but he’s here.”  
She lifted her head. “Guilty Spark? Do you read me?”  
A small, silver object appeared, coming out from somewhere up high on the roof. “I hear you! I am here to answer all your questions.”  
“Then in that case, let us kill this piece of filth, and be on our way,” the Jiralhanae growled.  
“No, I want to kill him!” another replied, shoving the first Jiralhanae.  
“No, I do!” a third yelled. The fourth punched the third, sending him sprawling.  
“Oh, for goodness sakes!” Blue yelled, gripping her horns. The Arbiter was staring at the Jiralhanae with a look of pure hatred. Johnson edged quickly away from the brawl, going to stand next to the Chief.  
“I don’t know how she tamed them,” he muttered. “Damn crazy.”  
“Tamed?” the Chief questioned, watching the four Jiralhanae threaten to tear each other’s arms off.  
Truth started laughing quietly, terror and injury leading to bring madness to the forefront. “You think you can build a better empire than me...me, the High Prophet of Truth? You will fail, and the true followers of the Covenant will see you dead. A knife in your own back, that would be suitable, though I wish for something more terrible for you.”  
Blue ignored him, though BTS growled angrily. She held her hands up, placating the four Jiralhanae with a stormy glare and sharp bark.  
“Think not of just yourselves,” she growled. “Think of what Truth has done to you. Then, think of what Truth has done to him,” she pointed at ‘Vadam, “and him,” she pointed at the Chief, “and tell me who you think has more of a right here.”  
The Jiralhanae grumbled unhappily, but accepted her logic and backed off. She stepped back as well; BTS dropped back to all fours and sat down. Guilty Spark floated over to the Jiralhanae, happily humming, and began monologuing to them, oblivious to the tension in the room.  
‘Vadam reached down and grabbed Truth by the neck, hauling him off the ground. The Prophet squalled fearfully, writhing.  
Blue knelt, one knee to the ground and the other up. She put one arm around BTS’s shoulders like he was a dog.  
“You’ve done it,” he said quietly. “Good job, Blue.”  
“It’s not over yet,” she replied tiredly.  
Truth screamed as ‘Vadam’s sword pierced through his chest. The Prophet flailed in pain, hands grasping at the air. His eyes rolled back, and with one, final, shuddering breath, he died.  
‘Vadam pulled his sword from the Prophet’s corpse and let it drop to the floor. He clenched his hands and roared triumphantly, throwing his head back.  
Blue inclined her head and stood, BTS following suit.   
Suddenly, the floor shook beneath their feet. BTS snarled, bracing his legs.  
“Wires!” he hissed, pointing at the corpse. The broken edge of a wire was protruding over the exit wound in the Prophet’s chest. ‘Vadam tore aside part of Truth’s clothing, revealing more wires leading to a blinking device. Blue could sense a signal coming from it, activated by the breaking of the wire. The device was also communicating with the arm of the Prophet’s chair - he had been prepared to activate the signal from the throne once he escaped the Citadel.  
The signal most likely communicated to a bomb ready to produce an immediate, devastating explosion that would wipe them out. The floor shook again.  
“It’s communicating with a detonator!” she roared. She put her hand out, energy scanning over the device, trying to figure out where it was going. “The detonator was signalled when the wires were broken. Uh...some of the explosives didn’t go off. But enough did.” She dropped her hand. “The building’s undergoing systematic, explosive failure.”  
“What is with the Covenant and their sudden booby traps?” BTS grumbled, standing up.  
“What’s the fastest way out of here?” the Chief was speaking to Cortana.  
“Back down the way we came - but we won’t make it in time!” she replied.   
“Out the window,” Blue ordered. “BTS and I can get you all to the ground. I hope you’re all fast runners. It’s the best chance we have.”  
~


	31. 1.30: The Price

1.30: The Price

They ran for the shattered window; energy flew ahead of them and created a thin staircase leading up to the window frame. Blue’s wings spread and she took to the sky, BTS following.  
“Cortana, where should we go from here?” she asked, hovering.  
“The nearest ship is a Sangheili vessel!” Cortana yelled in reply. “Sending coordinates to the LZ!”  
Blue thrust her hands out; a long beam of light emitted from the top of her glowing staircase, forming what looked like a very long slide, leading across the sky towards where the ship was parked.  
“I can’t reach all the way there, but I can get us close!” she called. “Up! Up!”   
The cohort was running up the glowing staircase, BTS hovering overhead. The ground shook again, and beyond the Citadel platform, part of the long hall collapsed.  
“Go, go, go!” Blue yelled, pointing down the slide. The Jiralhanae had been first; they flung themselves down the slide, rapidly accelerating away.  
A long shadow fell over them. She looked up; a massive structure was rising from the ground.  
“That is a Ring!” she heard the Arbiter exclaim.  
“Installation 04B!” Guilty Spark exclaimed. “I had hopes; it seems they are true!”  
“Spark, an explosion of the size Truth had planted under the Citadel will impact that structure!” Blue roared to the Monitor. “It will destabilize!”  
“I will do what I can to prevent such a thing!” Spark declared. “As the Monitor of Installation 04, 04B also becomes the place of my duty.”  
“Go, then,” Blue ordered him. “The Ring needs you more than we do.”  
“It has been a pleasure knowing you, Blue,” Spark replied cheerily. “Please, send ‘Refum my regards. I will miss him and his motley crew.”  
“I will,” the draconic promised. Spark hovered over to her; she put her hands on the sides of his casing and rested her forehead against the metal edge above his glowing eye. He hummed happily.  
“I’ll come visit you, I promise,” she said quietly. “I don’t want you to ever be alone like that ever again.”  
The Chief had been helping the injured Johnson up the stairs; they had made it to the top. Blue let Spark go, and he flew away, making for the rising structure of the Ring. She wanted to watch him, to make sure he made it, but they didn’t have the time.  
“This will hurt,” she said to Johnson. “There’s no other way; I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t worry about it,” he grunted. “I’m a tough nut to crack.”  
Blue pointed down the slide. “With haste.”  
Johnson shoved himself down the slide, the Chief coming after him. The Arbiter brought up the rear, and the glowing staircase vanished, BTS rocketing through the broken window.  
Blue chased after them, bypassing the two humans and the Sangheili on the slide, catching up with the Jiralhanae. She removed portions of the slide as they became useless, trying her best to conserve her energies. It was like the moving-floor levels of Super Mario games.  
The Jiralhanae dropped off the end of the slide; she dove, following them. They were getting back on their feet as she landed.  
One of them aimed his weapon at her, and she took a surprised step back.  
“You promised us answers from the Oracle,” he growled, “and you have sent him away.”  
“We have no time for this foolishness!” Blue hissed. “Stow you weapon!”  
“I have half a mind to think you’ve been tricking us this entire time!” he roared. “Making us commit the greatest heresy of our entire lives!”  
Gunfire rang out; the Jiralhanae was hit from two sides, from the slide and behind. He howled and fell, fatally wounded. Johnson fell somewhat ungracefully off the end of the slide; Blue quickly grabbed him and moved him out of the way before the Chief landed on top of him. The Spartan lowered his gun, seeing the Jiralhanae dead.  
One of the other Jiralhanae lowered his weapon as well; there were metal spikes sticking from the dead one’s back.  
“I agree,” he said. “We have no time for this.” He nodded firmly. “We’re on this path now. We can’t go back.”  
The Arbiter arrived, hopping off the end of the slide, BTS flying after him. He didn’t give the body of the Jiralhanae so much as a single look.  
Blue cast her mind out ‘Ayanam. _Shipmaster! Truth is dead, but he had some sort of trap set up, and this installation is at risk of catastrophic destabilization. Everyone needs to get off the surface now, Dreadnought or not.  
You will be glad to hear our news, then; we have brought the Dreadnought back to the sky. It is ours!  
Great; now get the hell out of here! I’ll see you on the other side._  
There was a pause. Then, from the Shipmaster’s end: _I know I have not always been the best host. I was just as blind as the rest. I committed wrongful acts, spoke wrongful words. I apologize for what I have done. But I promise you, I will do the right thing first from now on. I will see you again, Ascendant._  
The group was off and running, limited by the Jiralhanae, who were the slowest runners. Blue growled in frustration; they wouldn’t be fast enough.  
“Mount up,” BTS ordered, and dropped a Warthog in front of them.  
“Where’d you get that?” Blue asked incredulously.   
“I made a hyperspace jump back to where the humans had been,” the tiger replied casually. “This was the biggest thing I could jump back with, in my damaged state.” As he spoke, one of his engines emitted a cloud of sparks with a loud bang. He yelped, falling to the ground, engines dying with a mechanical clang.  
“I guess I’m on foot, then,” he grumbled, picking himself up off the ground.  
“It’ll be a squeeze, but we’ll fit,” Blue said grimly. The Chief jumped into the driver’s seat. ‘Vadam made for the passenger’s side, but saw Johnson going for the same spot and stopped, nodding to him.  
“You will be more comfortable in a true seat,” he said respectfully.  
“Or I could just sit on your lap,” Johnson offered. BTS ducked his head and snorted. Blue covered her mouth with her hands and looked away, chuckling at the expression on the Arbiter’s face.  
Blue grabbed the turret, bracing her feet against the back of the Warthog. She pulled, arching her back, wings extending and planting in the ground below her back, bracing her. The turret separated from the bed of the vehicle with a metallic screech. The momentum made her fall back; she flipped over, somersaulting backwards and landing on her feet. She dropped the turret with a thud.  
“That’ll give you more room, in the back,” she said. The Jiralhanae nodded and climbed into the back; the shock absorbers shrieked alarmingly.  
“I don’t know if the Warthog can drive with this kind of weight in it,” the Chief said dubiously.  
“I can compensate for it,” Blue replied.  
BTS trotted over to ‘Vadam. “I’ll give you a ride, Arbiter. Unless you want to try to fit in the clown car.”  
Blue crossed two strands of energy over the Jiralhanae in the back, who had managed to sit two across in the bed of the Warthog, with the third sitting on top of them. They gladly accepted the magic seatbelt (without it there was no way they’d be staying in the back for the bumpy ride).  
“We gotta go!” BTS yelled, some distance ahead, the Arbiter sitting on his back like he was some sort of strange horse.  
Blue jumped into the air, wings spreading out. The telescoping limbs clicked and clanked, setting into the largest span she had. She grabbed the rollbar between the seats and the bed with her hind feet. The exhaust manifolds on her back opened and her energetic thrusters fired without heat or sound. The massive weight of the three Jiralhanae was distributed between her and the Warthog.  
“Go!” she yelled. “I can keep up!”  
The Chief gunned the vehicle just as the entire Citadel exploded, shooting pieces of its structure everywhere. A fireball bloomed from the center of the building, consuming the ancient and ornate structure. The ground shook, and started to cave away around the explosion site.  
Blue’s thrusters reached full power, fighting to keep her aloft and at speed with the Warthog. She would have no trouble keeping up with the vehicle under just wing-based flight, but she needed the thrusters to keep the weight of the Jiralhanae from slowing the vehicle down.  
BTS was running ahead, the Arbiter crouched low on his back, holding onto the tiger’s shoulders. They ran beneath the shadow of a tall spire, some other unknown building. They rounded it, and the ship came into sight, a light ex-Covenant corvette that had been chasing down Jiralhanae on the surface.  
Blue reached out and contacted the ship. _Be ready to pick us up, and go with haste!_  
Something else exploded behind them, and the Chief swerved. A large chuck rock went soaring by them. The Jiralhanae in the back cursed mightily. The Warthog swerved drunkenly across the ground.  
“It would be really nice if you could tell me when more things get flung at us!” Johnson yelled. The Jiralhanae were about all anyone in the front of the vehicle could see, if they looked back.  
“I can’t get as much traction with you lifting up the back of the Warthog!” the Chief mentioned, yelling up at Blue.  
BTS, faster than the Warthog, had reached the gravity lift being projected from the corvette. He leapt, entering the gleaming beam, and he and ‘Vadam were pulled up into the ship.  
“Surface explosions have impacted the rising Ring!” Cortana yelled. “Look!”  
Blue swung her head around; the massive Ring was hovering in the sky; a small fireball jettisoned from its side above the crater of the Citadel; the explosion of the former building had damaged the Ring.  
The ground continued to fall down into the crater, caving in as more of the underground exploded and collapsed. More brilliant fire erupted from the ground.  
“Curse the Covenant and their damn bombs!” Cortana yelled. “They knew exactly where to put them to exert maximum damage! And I thought this place was sacred to them!”  
“Truth cared about his power more than anything else!” Blue replied.  
“We’re almost there,” the Chief replied. “Hold on!”  
“Rock!” one of the Jiralhanae yelped.  
Another flung boulder planted itself right behind the Warthog, impact almost flipping the vehicle over. The Chief fought to regain control of the vehicle; it spun out and hit a tree. Blue was whipped around over the roof of the vehicle like a strange racing flag.  
“DAMNIT!” Cortana yelled. The Chief flung the Warthog into reverse, got them off the tree, and back towards the ship.  
They entered the light of the gravity lift; Blue removed the energetic seatbelt from around the Jiralhanae so they could exit the Warthog. The ragtag crew of six people entered the ship; the lift shut off and the Warthog fell back to ground, exploding on impact. Immediately, the ship started moving away from the wreckage.  
The other people in the room cried out when they spotted the Jiralhanae; Blue stepped in front of them, spreading her wings.   
“They’re with me!” she yelled. “Stand down! They are Covenant defectors and were integral in helping me defeat Truth.”  
“Do as she says,” the Arbiter had remained in the room with BTS. Following his orders, the people in the room lowered their weapons.   
An explosion shook the ship, causing many to stumble.  
Johnson grumbled under his breath, holding his painful ribs. “Anybody know a doctor?”  
Blue turned to the Jiralhanae. “Come with me; I will find you somewhere safe to stay.”  
The Arbiter left as well, headed towards the front of the ship. Blue and her Jiralhanae departed after him, seeking a more solitary place to spend the trip home.  
Another explosion shook the ship; metal screeched across metal. Alarms started going off.  
 _The Ring is destabilizing! In its unfinished form, it was sensitive to exterior damage._ BTS told her. _We’ve been hit in the rear by shrapnel. I’m going to stay back here and help fix the damages.  
Alright. Be safe._  
She found an empty storage room, big enough to hold the Jiralhanae comfortably. “The Arbiter will vouch on your behalf to the shipmaster,” she told them. “He will placate the crew, but you must stay here, just to be safe.”  
A third explosion shook them, and everything suddenly turned upside down, or at least felt like it. The Jiralhanae were flung to the ground, Blue just barely keeping her feet. Her connection with BTS was cut off from her completely.  
“BTS!” she yelled, eyes widening. _BTS!_  
He was gone. She couldn’t sense him anymore.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	32. 1.32: Victory Rings Hollow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the last chapter! If you've made it this far, thank you so much for your continued support! I hope you enjoyed this fic and are excited for the rest of the series. I'll be posting the sequel just like I did this one. Be it good, bad, just okay, it's my legacy in fanfiction writing, and I'm going to put it out there before vet school swallows me up forever. I'm going to try and put all my writing out there ~shameless plug~ feel free to read my other stuff, comment, kudos, bookmark, or not. But for now, that's all.

1.31: Victory Rings Hollow

The ship was spiraling out of control; she could tell they were drifting and falling. Alarms were blaring; someone was speaking over the intercom.  
“We are going down! Brace for impact!”  
The ship impacted something hard, sending shockwaves through the hull. One of the Jiralhanae was thrown, knocked against the wall, stunned.  
They were still going down. Rather, they were sinking.  
“We’re taking on water!” Blue yelled just as the intercom did also. “We have to escape the wreck!”  
The sinking stopped with a thud; apparently, whatever water they were in was decently shallow. The floor was tilted, the nose of the ship lodged in the submerged, sandy ground below them.  
“Up and out!” the draconic ordered, pointing up the tilted hallway. Below the door to the storage room, she could see more members of the ship’s crew struggling to climb up the steep hallway. They were stuck at a steep angle, easily forty-five degrees.  
The three Jiralhanae dropped to their knees and crawled out the door, knowing there was no way they’d be able to stand on the steep slope. Blue’s claws gave her a stronger grip, and she easily descended the hall to help those stuck near the bottom of the crash.  
“Waters! Waters coming!” an Unggoy panicked, yelling to her. The small creatures, burdened by their methane tanks, found climbing the hall very difficult. A Kig-Yar bowled through them, scuttling past Blue, clawed hands and feet able to find better purchase.  
“Climb on my back!” she ordered the Unggoy at the bottom. She flared her wings a bit, giving them more space. Small hands and arms wrapped around her neck, shoulders, and wings.  
“Do I have everyone?” she asked, doing her best to look around. They were dead weight on her.  
“Yea, go go!” they cried fearfully. Behind them, Blue could hear the rush of water.  
She dug in her claws and climbed, now toting at least a thousand extra pounds. The going was terribly slow.  
“Waters!” one of her passengers screamed. Behind them, black waves rushed into the bottom of the hall.  
“We’re going to make it!” she snarled. “Just hold on! And stay still!”  
She reached the door at the top of the hall, which was thankfully open. The hall beyond the door did not run the length of the ship, like the former, but ran parallel. With the tilt of the ship, Blue could crawl on the intersection between the floor and wall almost like it was flat ground.  
More of the crew were running by, mostly Kig-Yar and Sangheili, having left the slower, less able Unggoy behind. Blue didn’t have time to think out the details of if methane floated or not, but with the heavy metal of the tanks, she doubted the Unggoy would be able to swim, if they were even capable of that when unburdened.  
There was light ahead; the aft half of the corvette appeared to be gone. Blue emerged into the sheared zone, into the light of day.  
She squinted, trying to figure out where they were. A coastline was visible on the horizon, and a sun shone overhead.  
_No...the Sun!_ They were back on Earth.  
She could sense Aethon again. But BTS was still gone.  
The ship had crashed into a (relatively) shallow zone of water, the majority of the hull submerged. About fifty feet of its length was above the surface. The remnants of the crew were all gathered in the sheared zone and on the slope of the hull, avoiding the thankfully calm waves.  
She spotted her Jiralhanae; they were making themselves indiscreet by huddling off to the side, behind a piece of twisted metal projecting from the shear zone. Once her Unggoy disembarked, she moved to them.  
“Stay here,” she ordered in low. “I have to return to the wreck and find survivors.”  
There were still people aboard the ship, in danger from the water. The gathered crowd around them only consisted of about a fourth of the total crew. A muttered string of curses from behind a twisted chunk of metal also told her Johnson had escaped the wreck.  
_Many would have been lost when the ship split...but not this many._  
She scanned her vision across the ship. Heat signatures of the still-living appeared.  
_There, in a lower hallway. They’re trapped behind a closed door with water only feet away._  
Without pause, she dove back down the hallway, sliding along the tilted floor. She used her wings to steer, digging the joints into the ground to turn, guiding herself to the locked door. She landed with a thunk, hearing the water rushing beyond the nanolaminate panels. Voices, hearing her above, cried out for help.  
“What’s the situation?” she yelled back, searching the surface of the door for a way to pry through.  
“We are stuck!” someone, sounding like a Sangheili, replied. “When the ship crashed, much of the bridge was destroyed, and the shipmaster was killed. The door controls were lost...The water has caused short-circuits that have jammed the door shut!”  
“I’m going to try and force my way through,” the draconic replied. “How much time to I have?”  
“Very little,” the door bemoaned.  
“Please, help us!” someone else cried, high-pitched voice identifiable as Unggoy.  
The doors on the corvette weren’t to be trifled with, that was for sure. The only way through was to bust the thing apart or pry it open. Even if the controls were still hackable (water damage could prevent the circuits from being active), that would take too long. At a time when she had more energy, more power, available, she could've just broken the door. But that was also not the case for the moment.  
She inhaled, pressure building up along her neck. She dug her claws into the gap between two panels and began to pull.  
The door resisted her efforts, locks in place and unmoving. She extended her wings, planting them against the doorframe, like outriggers. All four other limbs went to prying the door open.  
The frame screeched, doors moving a slight bit. The plates along her neck stood on end, pressurizing. She continued to pull with all her might, straining.  
“Move to the sides of the hallway, the best you can,” she cautioned through gritted teeth.  
She had formed a tiny gap in the door. Lowering her head, she opened her mouth, flamethrower nozzle extending. She put it against the crack and exhaled all of her compressed air through the small opening.  
The wind screamed through the gap, width of the opening unsatisfactory for the pressure. The door jerked open about a foot, panels screeching. On the other side, she could see a gathering of crew, Sangheili and two Unggoy that had somehow survived. They were clinging to the floor, water lapping around the Sangheili’s knees.  
“Help me pull!” she ordered, still tugging on the door. The nearest Sangheili reached up, grasping the two panels. Others joined, reaching around each other to grab the door. One even jumped right off the ground, grabbing the door and hanging near the top of the gap, where there was more room.  
The door began to move methodically. Under their combined strength, the lock mechanisms began to fail.  
As soon as the gap was wide enough, the two Unggoy made to scramble through, but the Sangheili were in the way. One snarled angrily, kicking at the smaller creature. He yelped, overbalanced, and fell into the water below, flailing in terror as he tried to climb back out. The weight of his combat harness dragged him under.  
Blue keened angrily, gathered her strength, and shoved. The door snapped open, sparks emitting from the frame. The Sangheili that had been dangling from the doorframe lost his grip and fell with an angry cry.  
The draconic lunged, tucking her wings in. Her hind feet grasped the edge of the door, and her hand closed around the falling Sangheili’s wrist, stopping him just before his head went under the water.  
“Go!” she roared, waved the others through. They passed under her, crawling up the floor. One of the panels of the door remained awkwardly extended, but the opening was cleared. The stuck panel provided good footing; the Sangheili could jump off it and gain distance up the hallway.  
The remaining Unggoy was the last through; Blue backed herself through the gap, pulling the Sangheili after her. He quickly regained his composure, trying to hide how terrified he’d been.  
“Thank you, Ascendant,” he said, inclining his head. “I am in your debt.”  
“Go swiftly,” she replied, bowing her head back. “I am nothing but your humble servant, but if a debt you must have, then consider it repaid if you take the Unggoy with you,” she said, pointing at the smaller, trembling alien.  
The Sangheili nodded. “I will honor your request.” he gestured for the Unggoy to come; the smaller alien jumped onto his back and held onto his shoulders. Together, they started the climb out.  
Blue looked to the waters below, scanning for life. The Unggoy that had fallen into the water was still alive and trying to climb back up. In fact, a lot of them were. It seemed that their rebreathers also worked like scuba gear did.  
With the weight of their combat harnesses dragged them down, however, their chances of escape were slim. The draconic dove through the door and into the water.  
Her eyes lit up the dark, twin glowing beacons. She found the falling Unggoy, grabbed him, and swam to the surface.  
They emerged; the water was almost up to the busted door. She put him on the remaining panel and dove back down. He immediately began scrambling up the hallway, screeching in fear.  
She swam down the halls, following heat signatures. Bodies of the dead increased as she descended, some drowned, others killed in the crash. There was blood in the water.  
She found two more Unggoy and proceeded to evacuate them in the same manner. Systematically, she swept the ship the best she could.  
Any Sangheili or Kig-Yar that had gotten trapped belowdecks had drowned by this point; many of them had be incapacitated by injuries from the crash that left them unable to escape. They were numerous, and the water was bloody.  
She broke the surface, carrying two more Unggoy. She sent them on their way and returned to the water.  
_Blue?_ It was ‘Ayanam. He sounded cautious.  
_I’m here. Our ship got split in half and crashed in the ocean.  
We noticed. The UNSC is sending a retrieval team to rescue the survivors.  
How’s the Dreadnought?  
Flying beautifully. We are in orbit and awaiting your orders.  
My orders? _She paused. _You should probably stick around for now, until the fleet has regrouped. Then, we will return to High Charity together._  
She found an Unggoy who’d fainted from fright and brought him to the surface. He refused to wake, so she crawled up the hallway, cradling him like a giant baby. She found a safe place, high above the rising water, to put him and returned for the others.  
Once she got everyone out of the rising water, she made rounds through the ship again, carrying them up and out. With her last load of four, she exited the ship into the blazing sunlight.  
Angry growling hit her ears; she looked over and spotted a gathering of Sangheili surrounding her three Jiralhanae. The trio had sat down in the meantime, and had not risen, heads down and refusing to meet the eyes of their antagonizers.  
“We don’t want any more trouble!” she heard one say as she approached. “We’re done with this war! All we want to do is go home.”  
“Leave them be,” another voice spoke before she could. It was the Arbiter, who had also just noticed the commotion, emerging from behind another twisted spire of hull. “This is not the time nor place for calamity.”  
“They must pay for the blood they have spilled!” one of the Sangheili argued. His friend immediately elbowed him, horrified by his outburst at the Arbiter.  
“They have turned against their leaders who ordered the act,” ‘Vadam continued. “While nothing will repay the lives they took, they have at least come to see the light. They deserve peace, until they come to arms against us again.”  
Blue slid to the side, and let the Arbiter put his people back in line. She wasn’t needed here.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Can you feel him?  
No, I cannot. He's gone._  
Blue sighed quietly, head bowed. She was sitting alone, on the edge of a human rooftop, waiting for ships to pick up her crew and return them to High Charity. There was still no sign of BTS, on her or Aethon’s end. And the ship had more troubles to convey.  
_After you left, things got a little more...shady. I could sense that something was up, but in my position, fixed to the center of the city, I could not investigate. My only word to the outside were the people who came to speak with me. The Councilor who supported you - ‘Mahom - came often. He told me the other Councilors were still upset about alliance with the humans and upset that the San’Shyuum Councilors hadn’t immediately stepped down after you left. They had expected them to do so, out of fear, but they persisted. This led to more terrible things._  
While she had been gone, on the Ark, unfortunate business had occurred on the holy station.  
_Some of the more conservative Councilors wanted to assassinate ‘Mahom and ‘Losan to replace them, Aethon reported sadly. They also wanted to kill off the San’Shyuum Councilors, but they kept that quieter. Because the Councilor of Faith was in on their plans. They were going to take over the entire government and steal away High Charity while you were on the Ark._  
She shook her head. It was almost too much to believe.  
_Thankfully, they were discovered, though it was almost too late. One of the Councilors that was in on the plan told ‘Mahom before begging the Councilor to kill him, to preserve his broken honor. ‘Mahom killed the other Councilor and sent word to me. I could not move to help them, so I told him to come to me, but by then the fighting had already broken out. I could only wait and hope everything turned out alright._ The ship sounded heartbroken.  
_They managed to contain the fighting, but word soon got around that something was up. People became nervous, fearing another schism. I did my best, speaking through the intercoms to keep the peace. I…I could only do so much.  
‘Losan was killed, along with all of the conservative Councilors. They killed almost all of the San’Shyuum Councilors before they were stopped. ‘Mahom had alerted the Honor Guard, and they broke into the private chambers where the fighting was going on. The Councilor of Unity escaped, along with the Councilor of Faith. ‘Mahom tracked down that traitor, dragged him to the top of the highest tower, and killed him on live broadcast for all of High Charity to see. I hadn’t exactly encouraged that move, but he did it anyways._  
The message was clear. Dissenters would not be tolerated. The city belonged to those who had won the fight.  
_I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them earlier, Blue._  
The draconic bowed her head. _You did the best you could, Aethon. I’ll be home soon. We’ll fix this.  
Yes, yes,_ her ship replied distantly.  
Her faction was on the edge of collapse. The Jiralhanae were still at large. The Sangheili were divided and angry. And BTS was lost. She laid down, distraught. Her eyes stared through the sky and into the space beyond.  
_This isn’t over._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_~And into the howling dark we go~_  
~


End file.
